Toxicological Profile for Tin and Tin Compounds
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TIN AND TIN COMPOUNDS 23 3. HEALTH EFFECTS 3.1 INTRODUCTION The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide public health officials, physicians, toxicologists, and other interested individuals and groups with an overall perspective on the toxicology of ton and tin compounds. It contains descriptions and evaluations of toxicological studies and epidemiological investigations and provides conclusions, where possible, on the relevance of toxicity and toxicokinetic data to public health. A glossary and list of acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols can be found at the end of this profile. Because there is such a large number of inorganic tin and organotin compounds, only the most widely studied compounds and those that present the greatest potential for human exposure have been selected for the discussion of health effects. In addition to primary studies, review articles and government reports are occasionally provided in order to assist the reader in understanding more fully the toxicology of the tin compounds. 3.2 DISCUSSION OF HEALTH EFFECTS BY ROUTE OF EXPOSURE To help public health professionals and others address the needs of persons living or working near hazardous waste sites, the information in this section is organized first by route of exposure (inhalation, oral, and dermal) and then by health effect (death, systemic, immunological, neurological, reproductive, developmental, genotoxic, and carcinogenic effects). These data are discussed in terms of three exposure periods: acute (14 days or less), intermediate (15–364 days), and chronic (365 days or more). Levels of significant exposure for each route and duration are presented in tables and illustrated in figures. The points in the figures showing no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAELs) or lowest- observed-adverse-effect levels (LOAELs) reflect the actual doses (levels of exposure) used in the studies. LOAELs have been classified into "less serious" or "serious" effects. "Serious" effects are those that evoke failure in a biological system and can lead to morbidity or mortality (e.g., acute respiratory distress or death). "Less serious" effects are those that are not expected to cause significant dysfunction or death, or those whose significance to the organism is not entirely clear. ATSDR acknowledges that a TIN AND TIN COMPOUNDS 24 3. HEALTH EFFECTS considerable amount of judgment may be required in establishing whether an end point should be classified as a NOAEL, "less serious" LOAEL, or "serious" LOAEL, and that in some cases, there will be insufficient data to decide whether the effect is indicative of significant dysfunction. However, the Agency has established guidelines and policies that are used to classify these end points. ATSDR believes that there is sufficient merit in this approach to warrant an attempt at distinguishing between "less serious" and "serious" effects. The distinction between "less serious" effects and "serious" effects is considered to be important because it helps the users of the profiles to identify levels of exposure at which major health effects start to appear. LOAELs or NOAELs should also help in determining whether or not the effects vary with dose and/or duration, and place into perspective the possible significance of these effects to human health. The significance of the exposure levels shown in the Levels of Significant Exposure (LSE) tables and figures may differ depending on the user's perspective. Public health officials and others concerned with appropriate actions to take at hazardous waste sites may want information on levels of exposure associated with more subtle effects in humans or animals (LOAELs) or exposure levels below which no adverse effects (NOAELs) have been observed. Estimates of levels posing minimal risk to humans (Minimal Risk Levels or MRLs) may be of interest to health professionals and citizens alike. Levels of exposure associated with carcinogenic effects (Cancer Effect Levels, CELs) of tin compounds are indicated in Table 3-5 and Figure 3-5. A User's Guide has been provided at the end of this profile (see Appendix B). This guide should aid in the interpretation of the tables and figures for Levels of Significant Exposure and the MRLs. 3.2.1 Inhalation Exposure Little information has been published regarding the effects of inhaled inorganic tin or organotin compounds on human health. Reports of human occupational exposures often involve multiple chemicals and lack details on actual exposure concentrations and conditions. Some reports of humans must also be regarded as anecdotal. The older animal literature (from the 1950s) includes inhalation studies that are lacking in description of methods and in reporting of experimental findings. However, it is still possible to characterize some aspects of tin toxicity due to inhalation of inorganic tin and organotin compounds. Exposure levels of the inhaled organotin compounds are expressed as milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) of the specific tin compound unless otherwise noted. Doses are not expressed as doses of tin due to the TIN AND TIN COMPOUNDS 25 3. HEALTH EFFECTS covalent bond between the tin and the organic moiety. There are no data for specific inorganic tin compounds. Calculations of parts per million (ppm) values are included where appropriate. Table 3-1 and Figure 3-1 summarize available quantitative information on health effects that have been observed in animals after inhalation exposure to tributyltins. Exposure levels are expressed as ppm in Table 3-1 and Figure 3-1. A table and figure are not presented for inorganic tin compounds due to limitations of the available studies. 3.2.1.1 Death Inorganic Tin Compounds. No studies were located regarding lethality in humans or animals after inhalation exposure to inorganic tin compounds. Organotin Compounds. Deaths have been reported in humans following exposure to organotins. One of six workers died 12 days following exposure to a mixture of half dimethyltin and half trimethyltin chloride vapor that occurred during the cleaning of a caldron at a chemical plant. Maximum exposure was a total of 1.5 hours over a 3-day working period (Rey et al. 1984). No estimates of exposure levels were given. The symptoms preceding death included excretion of high levels of tin in the urine, respiratory depression, and coma. More uncertain is the report of a female worker who died following a drenching with triphenyltin chloride, diphenyltin dichloride, and other unidentified compounds. No estimates of exposure levels were given. Death was apparently caused by renal failure 12 days after exposure (NIOSH 1976). No other studies were located regarding lethality in humans after inhalation exposure to organotin compounds. 3 A 4-hour LC50 of 77 mg/m for tributyltin oxide (as total particles) was described by Schweinfurth and Gunzel (1987) in a summary of acute studies; the LC50 for particles with a diameter of <10 µm was 65 mg/m3. The summary also indicates that a concentration of 20 mg/m3 of an aerosol of tributyltin oxide was lethal to guinea pigs within 1 hour of exposure. Lethality in mice was observed following single or repeated daily exposures to a butyltin mixture (81.2% tributyltin bromide and 3.7% dibutyltin dibromide) together with other unidentified compounds (15.1%) (Igarashi 1959). The concentration was 5.65 mg tin/m3 (1.16 ppm) as the butyltin mixture for different durations of exposure. The tributyltin bromide concentration was 1.1 ppm and that for dibutyltin bromide was 0.06 ppm. For a 2-day, 8-hour/day exposure, approximately 80–90% of the exposed mice died. Despite the observation of other signs of toxicity (see Section 3.2.1.2) the exposure of the mice to multiple compounds confound the interpretation of the data. Table 3-1 Levels of Significant Exposure to Tributyltins - Inhalation TIN ANDCOMPOUNDS Exposure/ LOAEL Duration/ a Frequency Key to Species NOAEL Less Serious Serious Reference (Route) Figure (Strain) System (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) Chemical Form ACUTE EXPOSURE Systemic 1 Mouse 6 d Cardio 0.42 Igarashi 1959 (NS) 7 hr/d TBT Hepatic 0.42 (blood congestion) Renal 0.42 (glomerular swelling, tubular epithelial lesions) Reproductive 2 Rat 10 d 0.39 (40% decrease in Iwamoto 1960 (NS) 5 hr/d 3.HEALTHEFFECTS reproduction) TBT INTERMEDIATE EXPOSURE Systemic 3 Rat 95 d Resp 0.3 (lung hyperemia, Gohlke et al 1969 (NS) 6 hr/d catarrhal bronchitis) TBT Hepatic 0.3 (minor fatty degeneration) Ocular 0.3 (inflamed eyes, nostrils) 4 Rat 80 d Resp 0.39 (bronchitis edema) Iwamoto 1960 (NS) TBT Cardio 0.39 (myocardial atrophy) Hepatic 0.39 (atrophy, necrosis) Renal 0.39 (swelling and congestion) Other 0.39 (splenic hyperplasia, thickened sheaths) 26 Table 3-1 Levels of Significant Exposure to Tributyltins - Inhalation (continued) TIN Exposure/ LOAEL Duration/ ANDTINCOMPOUNDS a Frequency Key to Species NOAEL Less Serious Serious Reference (Route) Figure (Strain) System (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) Chemical Form Reproductive 5 Rat 80 d 0.39 Iwamoto 1960 (NS) TBT a The number corresponds to entries in Figure 3-1. Cardio = cardiovascular; d = day(s); Derm = dermal; hr = hour(s); LC50 = lethal concentration, 50% kill; LOAEL = lowest-observed-adverse-effect level; NOAEL = no-observed-adverse-effect level; Resp = respiratory 3.HEALTHEFFECTS 27 TIN AND TIN COMPOUNDS 28 3. HEALTH EFFECTS Figure 3-1 Levels of Significant Exposure to Tributyltins - Inhalation Acute (≤14 days) Systemic ppm c Cardiovascular Hepati Renal Reproductive 1 1m 1m 1m 2r 0.1 c-Cat -Humans f-Ferret n-Mink Cancer Effect Level-Animals Cancer Effect Level-Humans