Children's clothing fasteners as a potential source of exposure to releasable nickel ions

Cutaneous nickel allergy in the very young is not well documented or characterized. A significant number of individuals are nickel sensitized by their mid-teenage years. Recent studies suggest that children may become sensitized to nickel at an early age.

The purpose of this study was to investigate nickel release from children's clothing fasteners as one potential route of exposure of pre-school age children to nickel ions.

Fasteners from new and used children's clothing purchased in the USA were tested using the dimethylglyoxime (DMG) and EN1811 tests for nickel ion release.

Of 173 fasteners tested, 10 (6%) tested positive using the DMG test for nickel release. EN 1811 standardized nickel release testing of these 10 items demonstrated that 70% (4% of all fasteners tested) released nickel in excess of the European Nickel Directive release limit (0.5 microg/cm(2)/week). Ten randomly selected DMG-negative fasteners were also EN 1811 tested, of which 30% of fasteners exceeded the European Nickel Directive release limit. Therefore, not less than 6% of the fasteners tested released excessive nickel.

This study concluded that clothing fasteners purchased in the USA could be a source of early childhood exposure to releasable nickel.