-Kelly-

Kettles: why they're in hot water
15 July 2004
Reporter: Scott Bevan

Having a quick cuppa may never be the same again after claims the humble kettle could be making us sick. Today ACA considers links between drinking water boiled in jugs with immersed elements and conditions such as fatigue and skin allergies. But experts urge us not to throw out our kettles just yet.

For teacher and performer Ibolya Mikajlo, constant fatigue for almost two years made her feel like her body was out of tune.

"I'd basically have to drag myself out of bed, go to work, try and get through the day, do what I have to do for work and then come home and go to sleep," she says.

In an effort to get to the bottom of the problem, last year she underwent a series of tests and was diagnosed with a form of thyroiditis, which was attacking the gland vital to regulating the body's metabolism.

After being treated for this, Ibolya found she was still fighting fatigue and underwent hair analysis in her search for answers. According to the doctor who ordered the tests, Dr Joachim Fluhrer, hair is a good way of analysing the body's absorption of metals.

Surprisingly, they discovered large amounts of nickel in Ibolya's hair. In fact, her reading was about 40 times higher than normal and she understandably wanted to know why.

"A chemist mentioned to me that I was probably drinking it," she says. "Sydney Water was very good and they came and checked it straight away."

Two kettles Ibolya used at work to make about half a dozen cups of tea daily were included in the tests. The sample taken from one kettle has a reading of 48 micrograms; the other was 452 micrograms, which was 22 times over the guideline of 20 micrograms of nickel for every litre of water.

The most likely source, according to the Sydney Water report, was the electroplating of the elements in the kettle.

"We didn't find any other high sources of nickel, so we concluded that it would be the major source of her nickel toxicity," says Dr Fluhrer.

UK researchers have also been investigating whether drinking water boiled in kettles with immersed elements can cause or contribute to some skin allergies. For example, nickel may worsen dermatitis.

But Dr Ross Vinning and his colleagues at the Institute for Clinical Pathology and Medical Research are not convinced there's a link.

"There are no doubts that in some cases some heating elements will release a small amount of nickel into water," he says. "Whether that will have any health consequences is debatable but seems highly unlikely."

Dr Vinnin says he can't recall toxic levels of nickel in water ever being detected by the laboratory.

"Nickel's a ubiquitous element in the environment," he says. "We get it in the food we eat, in the water we drink and we've been doing that since time immemorial. Nickel by and large is not a very toxic substance."

International organisation, the Nickel Institute, has also never heard of any case similar to Ibolya's and it has its members perplexed.

However, because there can be leaching from heating elements and the possible links between some skin problems and nickel, the Nickel Institute has already recommended kettle manufacturers not use the metal for plating that's in direct contact with the water.

Similarly, Tom Godfrey from Standards Australia says while kettles are already tested for their electrical safety and product toxicity before entering the market, they will now be looking further at the nickel issue.

"I think it's vital we look at all options, including substances that could be used instead of nickel," he says.

Now, Ibolya is writing to government departments and major retailers about her case and is adamant what should happen to kettles with immersed elements.

"They should be banned, they should be off the shelves, not sold to the public," she says. "I think they should be recalled."

Dr Vinning, however, says kettles with immersed elements shouldn't pose a problem for most of the population.

"There's probably more nickel in the coffee or tea that you add to the water than in the water itself."

Source

MalloryKeaton

That's interesting. I guess if people used cast iron pans as much as metal kettles then they might be at the same risk, but in reference to iron in that case.

I can see how this could scare people into not drinking tea/coffee. I think in small amounts it's ok. As they say, "in moderation". Too much or too little of anything isn't good. Absorbing a little nickel is ok, but if it's as much as that study found then I would think that that would be a cause for major concern.

-Kelly-

I have 1 or 2 coffees a day my wake up drug
I think my old kettle was making me more sick. I don't know
My knuckles on my hands would break out. Every year on a season they would bleed and I get sores on them it's not bad now thank goodness
Maybe my hands gets too cold in winter