Chemical Education Today
Letters Authors: Know the Hazards, Please! The article “Template Synthesis and Magnetic Manipulation of Nickel Nanowires” in the May 2005 issue of J. Chem. Educ. (1) does not identify all of the important hazards of exposure to nickel. In addition to the hazards of nickel exposure described in the article, nickel compounds are “known to be human carcinogens” according to the Eleventh Annual Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2). Further, according to Frazier and Hage in Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace (3), nickel and compounds of nickel are mutagenic. I suggest that in the future and before they submit their manuscripts for publication, authors of articles submitted to this Journal refer to the Eleventh (or more recent) Annual Report on Carcinogens (2) and to Frazier and Hage (3) or other reliable source on reproductive toxicity to check on the carcinogenicity and fetotoxicity, or lack of such, for the elements and compounds they recommend for use and handling by students. It would be a good idea also for authors to check on potential reactive hazards by referring to the current edition of Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards (4). Literature Cited 1. Bentley, A. K.; Farhoud, M.; Ellis, A. B.; Lisensky, G. C.; Nickel, A.-M. L.; Crone, W. C. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 765– 766. 2. National Toxicology Program: 11th Report on Carcinogens. http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/index.cfm?objectid=32BA9724-F1F6975E-7FCE50709CB4C932 (accessed Sept 2005). The hazards of nickel compounds are described at http:// ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/eleventh/profiles/s118nick.pdf (accessed Sept 2005). 3. Frazier, L. M.; Hage, M. L. Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace; John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1998. 4. Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 6th ed.; Urben, P. G., Ed.; Pitt, M. J. compiler; ButterworthHeinemann: Boston, 1999.
nickel compounds have been classified as A1 carcinogens by the ACGIH”), but then only recommends “general exhaust” as the type of ventilation to use. In a major spill, a respirator is recommended. In addition to the Ni solution, the other forms of Ni present are solid Ni wire and nickel nanowires. The MSDS for solid Ni states that there is limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect, although there may be sensitization by skin contact. It is recommended that the usual precautionary measures for handling chemicals should be followed. The MSDS recommends prevention of dust formation due to the fact that inhalation of metal particles (including nickel) is likely carcinogenic. Due to this fact and the absence of studies on the hazards of nickel nanowires due to inhalation, we have cautioned that the nanowires be kept and handled in solution throughout the laboratory. We believe that there is sufficiently strong language in our paper cautioning the reader to minimize exposure and use appropriate safety equipment. The section on hazards in the main body of the paper and the instructor notes as well as the section on safety precautions in the student procedure are aligned with current practice in articles published by the Journal of Chemical Education. Of the recent J. Chem. Educ. articles involving nickel, one article did not mention any hazards arising from nickel solutions (1), one mentioned nickel’s irritating properties but not its carcinogenicity or mutagenicity (2), and one primarily mentioned the allergic reactions but did mention the carcinogenicity (3). Literature Cited 1. Sogo, S. G. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 530–531. 2. Alonso, F.; Yus, M. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 1517–1518. 3. Cesteros, Y.; Salagre, P.; Medina, F.; Sueiras, J. E. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 489–491. Anne K. Bentley, Mohammed Farhoud, and Arthur B. Ellis Department of Chemistry University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
Jay A. Young
George C. Lisensky
12916 Allerton Lane Silver Spring, MD 20904
[email protected] Department of Chemistry Beloit College, Beloit, WI 53511 Anne-Marie L. Nickel
The authors reply: We thank Dr. Young for his comments on our paper. He is correct that the MSDS for the commercial Ni plating solution (Product Code #130859, Trade Name: Watts Nickel Pure, Chemical Names: Nickel Sulfate, Nickel Chloride) states that the product is regulated as toxic and contains ingredients that are known to cause cancer. It does identify the solution as a suspected cancer agent via inhalation (“all soluble
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Department of Physics and Chemistry, Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI 53202 Wendy C. Crone Department of Engineering Physics University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 53706
[email protected] Vol. 82 No. 12 December 2005
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Journal of Chemical Education
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