LONDON, June 3 (UPI) -- A decision to alter the metal composition of British coinage will bring increasing risks of skin allergies, Swedish scientists say.
The British Treasury, hoping to save $15 million annually, is replacing copper-nickel 5- and 10-pence coins with new nickel-plated steel versions.
Swedish researchers, writing in the journal Contact Dermatitis, said the change could increase the British public's exposure to nickel allergic reactions four-fold.
Using artificial sweat to assess skin exposure and metal release, they found the amount of nickel deposited onto skin during the handling of nickel-plated coins over 1 hour was four times higher than that from copper-nickel coins.
"The old cupronickel versions, containing 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel, are now being replaced by cheaper nickel-plated steel," Anneli Julander of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet said.
"No risk assessment was undertaken by the Royal Mint before release of the coins," Julander said. "This is of public health concern and the fears raised by British dermatologists are now confirmed."
