Holle Mynhardt

The public health statement tells you about the effects of exposure to tin and tin compounds.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has an icon. The most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation are identified by the EPA. The EPA puts these sites on the National Priorities List and then designates them for long-term cleaning up. Tin has been found in at least 214 of the 1,662 sites currently on the NPL.

There are at least eight Organotin compounds found in the 1,662 sites. The number of sites where tin and its compounds are found may increase as more sites are evaluated.

This information is important because exposure to these substances can harm you.

When a substance is released from an industrial plant or a container, it enters the environment. This release can not always lead to exposure. You can only be exposed to a substance if you breathe, eat, or drink it.

There are a lot of factors that can affect whether or not exposure to tin will harm you.

The dose, duration, and how you came into contact with these substances are factors. You should also consider your age, gender, diet, personal characteristics, lifestyle, and health condition.

Tin is not dissolved in water. Tin is used to coat cans.

It is found in brass, bronze, pewter and some soldering materials.

Tin can combine with other chemicals to form different compounds. Tin can be combined with chlorine, sulfur, or oxygen. Tin compounds are found in the earth's crust. They are also found in food and drink.

Tin and carbon form compounds. These compounds are used to make plastic, food containers, plastic pipes, pesticides, wood, and substances to repel rats and mice.

Tin compounds can be found in the air, water, and soil near where they occur naturally in rocks or where they are mined, manufactured, or used. Human activities can generate organotin compounds that do not occur naturally in the environment. The length of time each tin compound stays in varies from compound to compound.

Tin is found in many soils. Tin can be released as dust during windstorms. Tin-based gases, dusts, and vapors can be released from refinery and smelters, as well as garbage and fossil fuels.

Tin can be carried by the wind or washed to the ground by rain or snow. Tin is relatively immobile in the environment because it sticks to soils and water. Tin can't be destroyed in the environment. It can either stick to or separate from the particles in the soil and water.

Organotin compounds are found in the soil and water.

Tin compounds can be broken down by exposure to sunlight and by the bacterium. In water, organotin compounds adhere to particles. They can be deposited in the soil. Animals living in water with Organotin compounds can be incorporated into their tissues.

Tin is found in many places, including air, water, soil, and landfills, and is a normal component of many plants and animals.

Tin can be found in body tissues. Tin is not an essential element for humans.

Small amounts of tin are found in foods. The concentration of tin in vegetables, fruits and fruit juices, nuts, dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beverages, and other foods not packaged in metal cans are less than 2 parts per million (ppm) (1 ppm = 1 part of tin in 1 million parts of food).

The tin concentration in pasta and bread varies from zero to 0.03 ppm. You can be exposed to tin when you drink or eat from cans. The lacquer varnish on the cans prevents the food from reacting with the tin, which is why the food is less than 25 ppm tin.

Food in cans lined with tin, but not lacquer, can contain up to 100 parts per million of tin because of the reaction of the food with the can. Tin-lined cans are protected with lacquer. Tin helps maintain the color of the fruit and it's the only way to pack fruit and juices. If food is stored in cans, tin concentrations increase. Tin difluoride is added to toothpaste.

If you work in a factory that makes or uses tin, you may be exposed to higher than normal levels of tin. Breathing tin dusts or vapors can expose you to tin compounds. Tin compounds can enter the environment unintentionally. If you live near a hazardous waste site, you can be exposed to a lot of things. The public is not exposed to much tin in the air and water.

The amount of tin in the air may be higher.

Children eat dirt when they play.

Some soils may have as much as 200 ppm. The exposure to tin through eating soil would be very low if it was assumed that a child eats 200 grams of soil per day.

You can be exposed to organotin compounds if you eat shellfish from coastal waters or contact household products that contain organotin compounds. In Canada, pipes made of polyvinylchloride are used in the distribution of drinking water because they contain organotin compounds.

Tin can enter your body when you eat contaminated food or water, touch or eat soil that contains tin, or breathe fumes or dust that contain tin. Tin compounds can enter your body from exposure to polluted air, water, or soil. Tin enters your bloodstream very little when you eat it. The tin leaves your body in your feces.

tin leaves your body in your urine Tin can remain in your lungs if you breathe in air that contains tin vapors or dust.

If the amount is small, this does not affect breathing. If you swallow metallic tin particles, you will excrete them in your feces. tin can't enter through the skin. Your body can get rid of most tin in a few weeks, but some can stay in your body for a while. Tin compounds leave the body quickly.

Tin can be found in bone for a long time.

Scientists use a variety of tests to find ways to treat people who have been affected by toxic chemicals and to protect the public.

One way to determine if a chemical will harm a person is to see if the chemical is absorbed by the body. It may be necessary to test certain chemicals on animals. Cancer or birth defects can be identified through animal testing.

Without laboratory animals, scientists would lose a method of obtaining information that is important to public health. Scientists have a responsibility to care for research animals. Scientists must follow strict regulations for the care of animals in order to protect the welfare of research animals.

Tin compounds do not cause harm because they enter and leave the body quickly. People who took large amounts of tin in a clinical study had a number of health problems.

The effects of tin in animals are similar to those seen in humans. There is no evidence that tin compounds affect reproduction, birth defects or genetic alterations.

It's not known if tin compounds cause cancer.

Inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact with some organotin compounds have been shown to produce deleterious effects in humans, but the primary effect depends on the type of organotin compound. Humans have been exposed to high amounts of some organotin compounds and have suffered a variety of health problems. Neurological problems persisted after the poisoning. Fatal cases of poisoning have been described as a result of ingestion of very high amounts.

Some organotin compounds affect the immune system, while others affect the nervous system. There are some compounds that have very low toxicity. Scientists are unsure if exposure to certain organotin compounds in pregnant rats and mice will cause birth defects in the mother.

Some animal studies suggest that the reproductive organs of male animals may be affected. There are no studies of cancer in humans who have been exposed to organotin compounds. There are animal studies suggesting that some organotin compounds can cause cancer.

The EPA has determined that an organotin compound, tributyltin oxide, is not a carcinogen because of the lack of human data and uncertain data from a rat study. It is not known if it causes cancer in humans.

The section discusses the possible health effects on humans during the period from conception to 18 years old.

Children can be exposed to tin compounds in the same way as adults if they are exposed to contaminated soil or near hazardous waste sites. Children who eat a lot of soil may be exposed to larger amounts of tin if the soil is contaminated.

Children can be exposed if a family member works with tin compounds and brings tin home with them.

There are no studies on the health of children who have been exposed to tin compounds. It is reasonable to assume that children will have similar effects to those seen in adults.

We don't know if children are more vulnerable to the effects of tin compounds than adults. In humans and animals exposed to tin or its compounds, there are no known cases of developmental disorders.

Animal studies show that organotin compounds can reach the fetus. Birth defects are caused byRodent exposure to certain organotin compounds. The studies show that this happens only at the highest levels of toxicity to the mother.

Additional studies are needed to clarify this point. Rats exposed to tributyltin during their pregnancies had neurological problems as young adults, according to a study. A study of rats exposed to tributyltin during pregnancy and lactation showed impaired development in female rats.

There has been no report of tin or tin compounds in human breast milk. There is no direct evidence that these compounds are passed to the offspring.

If your doctor discovers that you have been exposed to a lot of tin or tin compounds, ask if your children have also been exposed. Your doctor may need to ask the state health department about the situation.

Children living near hazardous waste sites may be exposed to higher than normal environmental amounts of tin by breathing contaminated air or by skin contact or ingestion of contaminated soil.

Children should not eat dirt. Make sure they wash their hands before eating. Children shouldn't put their hands in their mouths.

Stannous difluoride is found in some dental products. Children should not swallow these products.

We can't avoid being exposed to tin since it's naturally present in the environment. The main route of exposure to tin is through canned goods. Reducing your consumption of these products will reduce your exposure to tin.

If you store unused portions of cans in different containers, you can reduce your exposure to tin since the concentration of tin in food increases if you store it in open cans. You may be exposed to organotin compounds by eating shellfish from areas that may be contaminated with these compounds or by contact with household products that contain organotin compounds. Reducing your consumption of shellfish from areas contaminated with these compounds and reducing your contact with household products that contain organotin compounds can help you reduce your exposure to these compounds. If you are exposed to large amounts of tin or tin compounds, you need to see a doctor.