Summary
The 15th Report on Carcinogens (December 2021) from the US National Toxicology Program classifies nickel compounds (as a class) as known to be human carcinogens and metallic nickel as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Nickel compounds were elevated to the “known” category in the 10th Report on Carcinogens (2002); the 15th Report maintains this classification. The carcinogenic effects are dominated by occupational inhalation exposure (nickel refinery workers, stainless steel and nickel-alloy production, electroplating), with primary cancers in the lung and nasal cavity. Dietary nickel exposure is not the route relevant to this carcinogenicity classification; the EFSA 2020 CONTAM opinion addresses dietary nickel through non-cancer endpoints (post-implantation loss, systemic contact dermatitis).
| Listing | Status |
|---|---|
| Nickel compounds (class) | Known to be human carcinogens (since 10th RoC, 2002; maintained in 15th RoC, 2021) |
| Metallic nickel | Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen (since 1st RoC, 1980; reaffirmed) |
| Nickel alloys | Reviewed in 2000; not recommended for listing |
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Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 3 sections added; narrative text revised |