Urinary levels of nickel and chromium associated with dental restoration by nickel-chromium based alloys

This paper aims to investigate if the dental restoration of nickel-chromium based alloy(Ni-Cr) leads to the enhanced excretions of Ni and Cr in urine.Seven hundred and ninety-five patients in a dental hospital had single or multiple Ni-Cr alloy restoration recently and 198 controls were recruited to collect information on dental restoration by questionnaire and clinical examination.Urinary concentrations of Ni and Cr from each subject were measure by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.Compared to the control group,the urinary level of Ni was significantly higher in the patient group of < 1 month of the restoration duration,among which higher Ni excretions were found in those with either a higher number of teeth replaced by dental alloys or a higher index of metal crown not covered with the porcelain.Urinary levels of Cr were significantly higher in the three patient groups of <1,1 to <3 and 3 to <6 months,especially in those with a higher metal crown exposure index.Linear curve estimations showed better relationships between urinary Ni and Cr in patients within 6-month groups.Our data suggested significant increased excretions of urinary Ni and Cr after dental restoration.Potential short- and long-term effects of Ni-Cr alloy restoration need to be investigated.

Utilization of Special Potential Scan Programs for Cyclic Voltammetric Development of Different Nickel Oxide-Hydroxide Species on Ni Based Electrodes

Special potential scan programs were designed for cyclic voltammetric development of β-NiOOH or γ-NiOOH/ β-NiOOH mixtures on the surface of nickel or nickel-chromium (80:20) alloy electrodes in NaOH 0.10 M. The pro- grams consisted on changing the anodic or cathodic switching limit to facilitate the chemical reactions taking place ei- ther between Ni(II) hydroxides or between Ni(III) oxides-hydroxides. The electrochemical charge density under the oxidative wave, observed at Ni or Ni-Cr electrode surfaces at approximately 0.48 V (vs SCE), remained almost con- stant with the number of cv cycles after approximately 600 cv cycles at 0.050 V/s. Thus, it can be suggested that a stable proportion of Ni(II)/Ni(III) oxides-hydroxides was obtained on the electrode surfaces. The relative amounts of β-NiOOH or γ-NiOOH species were calculated from the electrochemical charges under their reduction waves in the voltammetric experiments. Higher charge densities were always obtained with Ni-Cr alloy electrodes as compared to pure Ni electrodes. Linear relationships were obtained in our study on the dependence of the oxidative peak current with the square root of the scan rate at a scan rate range between 0.01 V/s and 0.16 V/s.

Recovery rates of iron, nickel, and chromium via iron-bath reduction of stainless steel dust briquettes based on corundum crucible erosion balance analysis

The leaching of chromium from stainless steel dust （SSD） is deleterious to the environment. To address this issue, the reduction of SSD briquettes can be employed to effectively extract chromium. The recovery rates of iron, chromium, and nickel via ironbath reduction of SSD briquettes were determined using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy measurements. First, the effects of basicity and contents of silicon, iron, CaF2, and carbon on the recovery rates of the three metals were analyzed using the slag amount prediction model, which was originally established from the A1203 balance of corundum crucible erosion behavior. Second, the effect of feeding mode, i.e., whether steel scrap and SSD briquettes were simultaneously added, on the recovery rates was discussed in detail. Third, the iron-bath reduction of SSD briquettes was thermodynamically analyzed. The results indicated that the recovery rates of the three metals are greater than 95% those of using a basicity of 1.5 and 6.0% CaF2, 15% carbon, and 7% ferrosilicon. The recovery rate of chromium increases twofold with the addition of ferrosilicon. The feeding mode of adding briquettes and steel scrap simultaneously is better for recovery of metals and separation of the metal and slag than the feeding mode of adding steel scrap firstly and then briquettes.