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Q:
Is it OK to freeze water in tin(Coffee) cans? They are used to cool down drinking water.
- Sheree
Long Island, NY
A:
Sheree -
Yes, in general, it is okay to drink water from 'tin' cans. 'Tin'
cans are actually made mostly of steel, with only a thin layer of tin
on the surface. And tin does not react with plain water. (It can react
with certain acids and bases, though, so you should be careful if
storing that sort of things in cans.) Also, the small amount of tin
that does get into your drinking water is not likely to be toxic.
According to the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
tin is generally completely non-toxic. Only extremely high levels of
tin or some organic tin compounds (not the kind you get from tin cans)
can make you sick. It will probably make your water taste metalic,
though, so unless you like the taste of hard water, you may still not
want to drink it.
-Tamara
(published on 10/22/2007)
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