is ENPS safe, or toxic?

[silversmith_]

Hello

Is ENPS safe for using, drinking etc?

Thanks

[oel]

Hi,
Difficult question, I personally do not use EPNS items for drinking or eating, the thin silver layer coat could be worn or completely gone. People with nickel allergy should avoid direct contact with nickel.

http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_d ... lergy.html
http://www.allergyuk.org/fs_nickel.aspx

I believe using a silver plated tea set, once in a while, should not harm us but I would not advice using it. Common sense and knowledge, the Pro’s and Con’s against the desire to use. It is up to us.

Regards,

Oel

[silversmith_]

Thank you very much for your answer.

I have a doubt: Certainly, it is said that nickel may cause problems, but I wonder if these problems are linked to pure nickel, or also to EPNS, as we know that ENPS is only around a 25% nickel, silver coated. Then I would like to know if this difference could make that the supposed toxicity of nickel is much more lessened when we are speaking of ENPS.

thanks

[silversmith_]

by the way, an added queston I forgot to ask:

Is there any way of, visually seeing if the internal silver laer is worn off?

Thanks

[oel]

Hi,

Your welcome, I believe your questions about toxicity of nickel and or reduced risk should be put on Metallurgy forums.
http://www.themetallurgist.co.uk/direct ... rums.shtml

I have provided you with some links about nickel allergy and have nothing more to add. Please note; All foods cooked in Nickel-free utensils.Visual inspection of the state of the silver plate should be done by an expert before using for food & beverage.

Cheers,

Oel

[silversmith_]

thank you very much for the links. Of course, when you advice to avoid all non free nickel utensils, you also mean to avoide stainless steel. Correct? Thanks

[oel]

Hi Mr.Silversmart,

Please read about nickel allergy before you leap;
One just has to be much more selective in choices -- make sure they are hypoallergenic, or made of stainless steel (although this contains nickel, it is so tightly bound that it cannot be leached out)
Best wishes,

Oel

[JLDoggett]

ESNS has been used for food service pieces for years and has been popular with flatware-makers for over a century. They even produced full sets of flatware in "germnan silver" "nickoloid" and pure nickle. The silver layer on most plated pieces is certainly thinck enough to be servicable for daily usage. I have quite a few sets of silverplated flatware from the 1920-1950 that are EPNS, were used daily and show little "break through" where the base is showing through the plate. The most common place for ware is the ends of tines and the heels of spoon bowls, I would check these areas carefully.

Unless a piece is obviously abused or damaged is should be safe to use. Remember the plating on serving pieces and flatware is not a thin flash plating as sometimes seen on costume jewelry. It is a substantial deposit of silver, often as thick as 1/48 of the thickness of the piece I will have to find the source but I know Trev has posted advertisements where 12 teaspoons are covered with 1 oz of silver. If the teaspoons weigh 2-oz each this is hardly a thin coating. I use a Reed and Barton tea pot daily at my shop, it was made in 1887 and has been used by several generations of my family in the past almost 125 years. The plate is still undamaged and still safe to use.

[oel]

ESNS has been used for food service pieces for years and has been popular with flatware-makers for over a century

For many centuries, lead was the favoured material for water pipes, due to its malleability (this use was so common that the word "" derives from the Latin word for lead). This was a source of lead-related health problems in the years before the health hazards of ingesting lead were fully understood; among these were stillbirths and high rates of infant mortality. Lead water pipes were still in common use in the early 20th century and remain in many households. Lead-tin alloy solder was commonly used to join copper pipes, but modern practice uses tin-antimony alloy solder to join copper in order to eliminate lead hazards.

EPNS utensils;
Common sense and knowledge, the Pro’s and Con’s against the desire to use. It is up to us.

Regards,

Oel

[JLDoggett]

My final comments:

Common sense and knowledge are essential to a well rounded life, howeve this is a tempest in a teapot (however tea contains nickel so I guess that should be avoided as reccomended on one of the sites listed above.)

The coating of pure silver over a nickel base creates a barrier that is to protect the user from contact with the nickel. That being said, a simple examination of the item (never mentioned in the origionator's first post) should suggest if the item is safe to use. There is a distinct colour difference between silver and nickel, so it should be obvious if the plate were worn through. In the mean time I would not suggest people stop using their EPNS items.

As for the use of lead: here it would be difficult if not impossible find a house with lead pipes. Our tradition has long been black iron piping and before that clay or wood were used. Moreover, by the mid-1700s the health hazards of leaded pewter were discovered and the American standard became what was called Britannia metal a non-leaded form of pewter.

[oel]

Hi All,

This could be of interest; Flatware Electro Plated silver Quality’s


viewtopic.php?f=38&t=19757


Regards,

Oel