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Manganese and your health

Learn about manganese, its potential health risks and how to reduce your exposure.

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About manganese

Manganese is a naturally occurring element found in the earth’s crust and in many minerals. It’s an essential nutrient for human health and can be found in:

Manganese is widely used as an additive in various industries, including:

It can also be found in a wide variety of products available to consumers, including:

Safety of manganese

Under Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan, we review and manage the potential risks that chemical substances can pose to people in Canada and the environment. The first stage of the review process is a draft chemical risk assessment. We’ve completed the draft assessment of substances that contain manganese.

Although it’s an essential nutrient for human health, we’re proposing that manganese may be harmful at high levels of exposure from: 

High exposures to manganese, even for a short period of time, may harm the central nervous system and brain development, especially in:

People living near certain industrial facilities may also have a higher risk of exposure to high levels of manganese. These facilities include:

We’re also proposing that high levels of manganese may be harmful to the environment.

What we’re doing

Our assessment is not yet final. We’re continuing to evaluate the potential risk posed by manganese before we publish our final conclusion. This includes:

Health Canada has worked with the provinces and territories to set the maximum acceptable concentration for manganese in drinking water at 120 μg/L. We’ve also established a reference concentration for manganese in air at 0.05 μg/m3. These levels are designed to protect all people in Canada, including the most sensitive populations, such as infants and children.

This value reflects the concentration to which the general population, including sensitive groups, can be exposed for a lifetime without harm.

If the proposed findings for manganese are confirmed in the final assessment, we will consider:

We will also continue to track new information on exposures to manganese through food and infant formula. We’re considering:

You may provide any comments on our risk management scope during the 60-day public comment period: Canada Gazette, Part I: Vol. 159, No. 43 - October 25, 2025

What you can do

You can take steps to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals.

If you’re concerned about the presence of manganese in your drinking water, contact your provincial or territorial drinking water authority or your local public health unit.

If you have a private well, have the water tested to see if there are any problems.

If levels of manganese in your drinking water are high, installing a water treatment unit in your home can reduce it. Reverse osmosis is the most effective and reliable way to reduce manganese levels in drinking water.

If you’re concerned about elevated manganese levels in the outdoor air near your home, you can take steps to reduce levels of particulate matter indoors:

Read product labels and follow all safety warnings and directions:

Not all products provide a list of ingredients. If you’re unsure if your product contains manganese, contact the manufacturer.

If you’re exposed to manganese at work, talk to your employer and occupational health and safety (OHS) official about:

Related links

For industry and professionals

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2025-10-24