Water Quality Standards

Tin is used principally in the production of coatings used in the food industry. Food, particularly canned food, therefore represents the major route of human exposure to tin. For the general population, drinking-water is not a significant source of tin, and levels in drinking-water greater than 1–2 µg/litre are exceptional. However, there is increasing use of tin in solder, which may be used in domestic plumbing.

Tin and inorganic tin compounds are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, do not accumulate in tissues, and are rapidly excreted, primarily in the faeces.

No increased incidence of tumours was observed in long-term carcinogenicity studies conducted in mice and rats fed stannous chloride. Tin has not been shown to be teratogenic or fetotoxic in mice, rats, and hamsters. In rats, the NOAEL in a long-term feeding study was 20 mg/kg of body weight per day.

The main adverse effect on humans of excessive levels of tin in foods (above 150 mg/kg), such as canned fruit, has been acute gastric irritation. There is no evidence of adverse effects in humans associated with chronic exposure to tin.