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Laughlin et al. 1986a). Tributyltin is a contributory factor and probably a major cause for the reproductive failure of the European flat oyster (Ostrea eduiis) in recent years in some locations (Thain and Waldock 1986). In fact, tributyltins are capable of causing adverse biological effects at levels far below that of any previously reported marine pollutant (Lawler and Aldrich 1987). The widespread agricultural applications of trialkyltin biocidal agents have greatly increased the relative exposure risks to workers handling these materials (Rosenberg et al. 1985). Internationally, tin was recognized as a potential environmental contaminant at the Paris and Helsinki conventions in 1974; in later conventions, organotin compounds were moved to the "black list" (Vrijhof 1985). Due to the increasing use of organotin compounds as a class, the Canadian government, in 1979, placed organotins on Canada's Category III Contaminant List. Category III indicates that additional data are needed on the occurrence, persistence, and toxicity of organotins for preparation of informed environmental and human health risk assessments (Chau et al. 1984). Many reviews and bibliographies are available on the environmental impacts of inorganic and organic tin compounds. These authorities agree that inorganic tin compounds are comparatively harmless and that many organotin compounds are potentially very hazardous to natural resources--especially tributyltin compounds to aquatic biota. One rare exception to this generalization involved 113 cases of acute gastrointestinal illness in Washington and Oregon in 1969 associated with ingestion of canned tomato juice contaminated by inorganic tin; detinning in many cans resulted in tin levels as high as 477 mg inorganic tin per liter of juice. It seems that excessive use of nitrate fertilizer on one tomato crop was the ultimate cause of the detinning (Barker and Runte 1972). This report summarizes selected data on ecological and toxicological aspects of organic and inorganic tin compounds, with emphasis on fishery and wildlife resources. It is part of a continuing series of reports on chemical contaminants prepared in response to informational requests from environmental specialists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. IBarnes and Stoner (1959); Piver (1973); Kimbrough (1976); CEC (1978); Zuckerman et al. (1978); Duncan (1980); Watanabe (1980); WHO (1980); Blunden and Chapman (1982); Blunden et al. (1984, 1985); Krigman and Silverman (1984); Reiter and Ruppert (1984); Reuhl and Cranmer (1984); Wilkinson (1984); Hall and Pinkney (1985); Laughlin and Linden (1985); McMillan and Wenger (1985); Thompson et al. (1985); Blunden and Chapman (1986); Cardwell and Sheldon (1986); Chang (1986); Maton (1986); Sylph (1986a, b); EPA (1987); Snoeij et al. (1987). 2