Umweltbundesamt

Home > Topics > Air > Air pollutants at a glance > Heavy Metals in Particulate Matter (PM10) > Nickel in particulate matter

Nickel in particulate matter

Ein rauchender Schornstein vor bewölktem Himmel.

Nickel is emitted by power plants or industrial processes.
Source: jzehnder / fotolia.com

Nickel belongs to the heavy metals and usually occurs bound to other substances. In ambient air arsenic is measured bound to particulate matter.

28.10.2021

Emission sources

Nickel is mainly emitted by combustion processes – e.g. by the petroleum processing, but also by the combustion of fossil fuels at traffic or in power plants. Another important source is the metal industry

Health risks

Nickel is mainly obtained from food although it can hardly be resorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Occupational inhaling of nickel vapors may cause a degeneration of the nasal mucosa, asthma and pneumoconiosis. But for the general population Nickel is known to be a contact allergen. Nickel compounds are classified to be cancerogenic, metallic Nickel is probably cancerogenic.

Air quality standards

There is an Europe-wide target value of 20 ng/m³ as annual mean that is valid since 1 January 2013.

Air pollution

Since 2007 the target value was exceeded 15 times at four stations close to industry. At one station the concentration of 93 ng/m³ was high above the target value.

The average concentration in urban and rural areas is about 1 µg/m³. Higher values are measured close to industry (3 ng/m³ at the moment). Lowest concentrations are measured at the very remote stations of the Environment Agency (below 1 ng/m³).

Compared to other European countries, the nickel pollution in Germany is moderate.

 

Nickel in particulate matter - Annual tabulation

Here the annual tabulations from 2007 onwards can be found (station-by-station).

Links

  • Kartendienst zur Luftschadstoffbelastung
  • Luftschadstoff-Emissionen in Deutschland

Documents

  • Informationsblatt Nickel
  • Informationsblatt Nickel (englisch)
Article:

Tags:
 Nickel  Schwermetall  Immission  Luftqualität  Luft  Belastung Top

The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.

The UBA

Contact

Wörlitzer Platz 1
06844 Dessau-Roßlau
Germany
Please contact us exclusively by e-mail: buergerservice [at] uba [dot] de.
Unfortunately, we are currently not available by telephone.
There may currently be delays in answering enquiries. We ask for your understanding.
The visitors' room in Dessau-Roßlau is temporarily closed.

Source URL (modified on 28.10.2021):https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/topics/air/air-pollutants-at-a-glance/heavy-metals-in-particulate-matter-pm10/nickel-in-particulate-matter