Health warning over banned metal used in new 5p and 10p coins

New “cheap” Royal Mint coins issued by the Treasury could prove harmful to people’s skin, experts have warned.

The possible health risks of using the nickel-plated five and ten-pence coins should be investigated, a group of skin experts said. One in ten women and 2 per cent of men are allergic to nickel. A European directive was introduced in 2000 to ban the substance in items such as belts and earrings, where there was a danger it would corrode and irritate skin.

The Treasury expects to save about £8 million a year by producing the cheaper coins, which are gradually being phased into circulation, and is satisfied they do not pose a health risk to the general public.

However, experts from St John’s Institute of Dermatology, in London, and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, in Sheffield, believe more research is needed.

In a joint letter to the British Medical Journal, they wrote: “The Treasury is introducing Royal Mint nickel-plated coins to cut costs. However, consideration must be given to the potential costs to health from skin disease related to nickel exposure – allergic contact dermatitis and hand dermatitis.

“Considerable evidence supports these concerns, which have not been assessed by the Treasury or the Royal Mint. In the absence of responses through usual channels, we posed three questions to the Royal Mint under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The Royal Mint confirmed that it had no information to address these specific questions.

“However, the Swedish Riksbank recently reviewed its coinage and concluded that nickel-plated coins pose unacceptable risks to health. Indeed, it will not include nickel containing alloys in its coinage.

“The prevalence and implications of contact allergy to nickel in Sweden are no different from those in the UK.”

The experts are particularly worried about people who frequently handle coins, such as shop workers.

Danielle Greenblatt, dermatology specialist registrar at St John’s, said: “We do have evidence that prolonged contact among people who have hand dermatitis will exacerbate their dermatitis.

“It’s difficult to get an idea of numbers, but we do think a risk assessment should have been carried out.”

The experts have recommended that Sir John Beddington, chief scientific adviser to the government, be asked for a view.

However, a spokesman for the Treasury insisted there was no reason to believe the coins are not safe.

He said that, while Sweden’s central bank has banned them, the majority of countries allow nickel-plated coins. The new coins were released in January of this year.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Mint said: “The Royal Mint has adhered to all the relevant legislation and guidelines relating to the introduction of new coinage, and can confirm that the new nickel-plated 5p and 10p coins have no additional potential to cause adverse effects on people with allergic contact dermatitis and hand dermatitis.”