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Published in Maurizio Cumo, Antonio Naviglio, Safety Design Criteria for Industrial Plants, 2019
Claudia Bartolomei, Sergio Paribelli
Toxicity — Metallic nickel or soluble nickel compounds may affect the body via inhalation, dermal, and oral routes. Metallic nickel and certain soluble compounds such as dust or fume cause sensitization dermatitis, allergic skin rashes, and probably produce cancer of the paranasal sinuses, of the lung; nickel fume in high concentration is a respirator irritant. Physical examinations of exposed personnel should be made available. TLV-TWA: 1.0 mg/m3 Metal, 1.0 mg/m3 insoluble compounds, as Ni, and 0.1 mg/m3 soluble inorganic compounds. OSHA standard for nickel metal and soluble nickel compounds: 1 mg/m3, averaged over an 8-h work shift. Occupational exposure to inorganic nickel recommended standard: air: TWA: 15 µ/m3 averaged over a work shift of up to 10 h/d, 40 h/week. NIOSH has recommended that nickel be regulated as an occupational carcinogen.
Occurrence and Importance of Heavy Metal Contamination
Published in Jiaping Paul Chen, Decontamination of Heavy Metals, 2012
Iron is used for production of stainless steel. Steel is heavily used in the construction and automobile industries. When nickel and chromium are added during production, the hardness of steel can be greatly improved. Nickel compounds are also used for nickel plating, coloring ceramics, making batteries, and as a catalyst. China imported 5,350,000 tons of iron ore valued at 3,922.280 million US dollars and 440,000 tons of chromium ore valued at 76.143 million US dollars, respectively, in May 2009 (www.chinamining.org). The imports in January–May 2009 reached 24,189,000 tons valued at 18,853.828 million US dollars and 1,870,000 tons valued at 372.165 million US dollars, respectively, for iron and chromium ores. The world iron ore market achieved an all-time high for production in 2011 of 1.92 billion tons up, 4.7% from 2010. However, China’s iron ore import started fail since early 2012.
Toxicity of metals
Published in Chris Winder, Neill Stacey, Occupational Toxicology, 2004
The exposure and toxicity of nickel is based on the various classes of nickel compounds, and the human activities associated with them: Divalent nickel compounds have a low toxicity at concentrations found in the environment.Exposure to nickel metal (for example, from its use in coinage or stainless steel) is not considered harmful.In humans, adverse effects of water-soluble nickel compounds occur after contact to skin (causing contact dermatitis in perhaps 10% of exposed individuals) and after inhalation (which causes respiratory tract irritation and asthma) in workers such as electroplaters.Human exposure to inorganic, water-insoluble nickel compounds usually occurs through inhalation of fumes or dusts, which are associated with cancers of the respiratory tract in nickel refineries.The organic compound nickel carbonyl (Ni(CO)4) is produced in the Mond refining process, and because of its volatility (boiling point of 43°C) and lipid solubility, is highly toxic and carcinogenic.
Review of cigars and cigar-type products as potential sources of consumer exposure to heavy metals
Published in Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part C, 2022
Paweł Jacek Hać, Bartłomiej Michał Cieślik, Piotr Konieczka
Nickel is a heavy metal present in the environment at very low levels in the form of oxides or sulfides. It was noted that vegetables may contain more nickel than other foods, however it was not specified which vegetables or where they come from. Environmental sources with lower concentrations of Ni are reported to include tobacco, but the authors did not specify which tobacco. As shown in Table S1, presented in Supplementary Materials where all data collected during presented review are shown in details, the nickel contents in cigar tobacco can be as high as 12.53 µg/g.24 This is approximately three times higher than the upper end of the nickel concentration range for tobacco indicated by the authors. From the point of view of the consumer's health, it is therefore important to monitor the amount of this element in various cigars. The most common toxicity caused by nickel compounds is an allergic skin reaction that occurs in part of the population. Nickel has also been shown to be a potential immunomodulatory and immunotoxic agent, independent of its allergic properties. Nickel compounds have also been classified as carcinogenic to humans and animals.23 Nickel is also an essential element for both animal and plant life. It has been reported to interact with iron found in hemoglobin to aid oxygen transport, stimulate metabolism, and is considered a key metal in many plant and animal enzyme systems.17
Heavy metals in municipal waste: the content and leaching ability by waste fraction
Published in Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2019
In waste, nickel occurs in compounds of low solubility, e.g. steel alloys or galvanized coating of various products, such as equipment, car parts, and tools. Elemental nickel can be emitted into the environment by household appliances. Some nickel compounds in waste are mobile and dangerous to the environment. Their major source are nickel-cadmium batteries: the cathode is made from nickel oxyhydroxide NiOOH [22]. Along with lithium-ion batteries, nickel is released into the environment in the form of LiNiO2. Nickel hydroxide Ni(OH)3 is known to be used in alkaline iron-nickel accumulators, and nickel oxide – in zinc-nickel and nickel-metal hydride accumulators. Nickel (III) oxide is used as an additive to the special glass in optical devices. Additionally nickel-chromium alloys have been used in household heaters for many years. Aforementioned nickel compounds are soluble only in organics and acids as cadmium compounds.
A retrospective analysis of nickel exposure data at a South African base metal refinery
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2018
Monica M. Young, Cornelius J. Van Der Merwe, Stefan J. L. Linde, Johan L. Du Plessis
Each stage during the purification and refining of nickel is characterized by exposure to different nickel compounds. Exposure to sulfidic nickel tends to be higher during the crushing and milling of the ore, while the exposure to oxidic nickel is higher after the nickel ore is fed into the furnaces.[3] Base metal refinery workers are primarily exposed to nickel sulfate (referred to as soluble nickel), during the electrolysis of nickel.[4] Electrolysis of nickel takes place inside tankhouses, where an electrical current is applied to a nickel sulfate solution and nickel deposits on the cathode of the electrowinning cell.[5] During nickel electrolysis, oxygen bubbles are formed at the anode and rise through the electrolyte solution, bursting at the liquid–air interface, producing an aerosol of the electrolyte solution.[6] Workers aiding in the removal process of electroplated cathodes is exposed to this electrolyte aerosol. Electrowinning cell workers and crane drivers specifically, are considered as the highest risk employees, due to their proximity to the electrowinning cell during the removal of the electroplated cathodes.