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Some people have claimed that nickel is unsafe to use in flatware (i.e. cutlery) - Example 1, Example 2.

Indeed, nickel is a carcinogen (Ref 1, Ref 2).

Is it safe to use nickel-plated flatware?

Mad Scientist
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bobobobo
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    Has anyone claimed it is dangerous? We want to focus our attention on doubtful claims that are widely held or are made by notable people, rather than just speculation. Please [provide some references](http://meta.skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/882/what-are-the-attributes-of-a-good-question/883#883) to places where this claim is being made. – Oddthinking Aug 27 '11 at 06:44
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    Agreed, please show us some that someone is actually claiming that as this looks like mere speculation. – Sklivvz Aug 27 '11 at 09:18
  • Also nickel silver (usually used on flatware) is different than pure nickel. The concern regarding toxicity is mainly aimed towards industrial workers that are exposed to nickel every day. – Nostrum Aug 27 '11 at 14:30
  • Some people are allergic to nickel. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nickel-allergy/DS00826 – Dan Brumleve Aug 28 '11 at 06:02
  • @Nostrum: Aren't you exposed to cutlery every day? :) But well - we're eating *with* flatware, not eating *the* flatware. – user unknown Aug 28 '11 at 14:40
  • Here's a claim on a blog which reads "Nickel is not poisonous in small quantities but it can cause an allergic reaction. **People with nickel allergies should avoid cooking with stainless steel cookware**." _Source:_ http://eartheasy.com/blog/2009/01/healthy-cookware/ There's also an article entitled "**Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron**" that mentions "nickel sensitive patients" on this Government web site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1514841 – Randolf Richardson Aug 29 '11 at 03:13
  • You might like [Bioavailability, intracellular mobilization of nickel, and HIF-1{alpha} activation in human lung epithelial cells exposed to metallic nickel and nickel oxide nanoparticles](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21828359) which in the abstract says "metallic Ni nanoparticles, in contrast to micron-sized Ni particles, activate a toxicity pathway characteristic of carcinogenic Ni compounds". So now it's just a matter of, does flatware release nickel nanoparticles and/or micron-sized nickel compound particles? – w00t Oct 16 '12 at 11:00
  • I started researching this, but the question is still unclear. Some people are talking about the Nickel/Coppter undercoat of silver-plating, in which case you aren't exposed unless the silver-plating is worn away. Some people are talking about stainless steel - some alloys contain some nickel content. – Oddthinking Nov 11 '17 at 12:42

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