Urine nickel concentrations in nickel-exposed workers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Nickel exposure is a concern in various industrial settings.
• Assessing occupational nickel exposure is crucial for worker health.
• Previous methods for monitoring nickel exposure have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze nickel concentrations in urine across different occupational groups.
• To identify which occupational exposures lead to the highest nickel levels in urine.
• To compare the utility of urine nickel measurements versus serum nickel measurements for exposure assessment.

Main Methods:

• Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was used for nickel analysis.
• Urine samples were collected from 10 occupational groups with nickel exposure and 2 control groups.
• Data were analyzed to determine mean nickel concentrations in urine for each group.

Main Results:

• Highest mean urine nickel concentrations were observed in workers exposed to soluble nickel salt aerosols (e.g., nickel plating, electrolytic refining).
• Moderate increases in urine nickel were found in metal sprayers, nickel battery workers, bench mechanics, and arc welders.
• No significant increases were detected in workers involved in grinding, buffing, polishing nickel alloys, or using Raney nickel catalysts.

Conclusions:

• Urine nickel concentration is a sensitive and practical biomarker for evaluating nickel exposure in industrial workers.
• Specific occupational activities involving soluble nickel salt aerosols pose the highest risk for nickel absorption.
• ETAAS provides a reliable method for quantifying nickel in biological samples for occupational health monitoring.