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Handling Euros could trigger painful skin allergies. The coins are due for
distribution across Europe next year. But tests by Carola Liden of the
Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm show that sweat corrodes the surface of used
coins that have the same copper-nickel blend as &egr;1 and &egr;2 coins, releasing a
microgram of nickel in minutes. The European Union’s limit is 0.5 micrograms per
square centimetre per week for metal in constant contact with the skin. Most
people only handle coins briefly during the day, but cashiers who deal with
coins all day may be at risk, warns Liden.