Nickel Development Institute (NiDI has asked European recyclers of stainless steel to provide information related to the use of nickel in their business. The information should be supplied to a neutral third party, URS Dames & Moore. This company will keep the information confidential, compile the data from individual companies, and generate aggregate industry-wide information that will then be passed on to the European Union, which is presently conducting a risk assessment of nickel. The plea for information was made by NiDI President Ivor Kirman at the Bureau of International Recycling Convention, Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Round Table, held in Dublin, Ireland. “The nickel industry has come to the conclusion that if we want the political system to deliver sensible regulation relating to nickel, then we must develop a full understanding of what nickel does through its life cycle,” Kirman said. “And we must communicate this understanding clearly and widely to all parts of the political system. We believe that nickel is among the most widely recycled of all industrial raw materials. If we can substantiate this belief, then we have some very positive messages to communicate to the new political audience,” Kirman said.
