There seems to be some misunderstanding and misinformation being accepted and regurgitated by a number of body piercers with regards to the European Union Nickel Directive and its implications for 316L, which is the common stainless steel alloy used for body jewellery. The claim is that 316L of any standard is banned in Europe according to the Nickel Directive and therefore should not be used for the application of body piercing. I will address the validity of this claim in this paper.
The European Union Nickel Directive was first introduced on June 30 1994[1]. It was finally adopted as, “The Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel)(Safety) Regulations 2000″[2]. According to this directive, 316L of any standard failed to meet the nickel content limit designated for jewellery intended for healing body piercings, therefore it was not allowed to be used for this purpose. See below for the original Directive: