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

Background: 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.

Objectives: 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.

Patients/methods: 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.

Results: 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.

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