Pet Safety / Compounds / Beryllium

Is Beryllium safe for dogs and cats?

High risk for pets

Beryllium is acutely toxic (GHS Category 1-3). Dogs may access through household exposure. Contact veterinarian immediately if exposure suspected.

What is beryllium?

Also known as: Glucinium, Beryllium metal, Beryllium metallic, Glucinum.

IUPAC name
beryllium
CAS number
7440-41-7
Molecular formula
Be
Molecular weight
9.012183 g/mol
SMILES
[Be]
PubChem CID
5460467

Risk for dogs

High risk

Beryllium is acutely toxic (GHS Category 1-3). Dogs may access through household exposure. Contact veterinarian immediately if exposure suspected.

Risk for cats

High risk

Beryllium is acutely toxic (GHS Category 1-3). Cats are particularly vulnerable due to grooming behavior and glucuronidation deficiency.

Regulatory consensus

25 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Beryllium. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IARC2012Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans)Lung cancer confirmed in beryllium workers; berylliosis (chronic beryllium disease) as co-morbidity; Monograph 100C
US EPA2021likely to be carcinogenic to humansEPA IRIS final assessment (updated 2021); lung cancer primary carcinogenicity endpoint; inhalation unit risk 2.4 × 10⁻³ per μg/m³; also causes chronic beryllium disease (CBD) at subcarcinogenic doses; OSHA action level 0.1 μg/m³
EPA CTX / NIOSH—potential occupational carcinogen
EPA CTX / IRIS—B1 (Probable human carcinogen - based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans)
EPA CTX / IRIS—Carcinogenic potential cannot be determined
EPA CTX / IRIS—Known/likely human carcinogen
EPA CTX / NTP RoC—Known Human Carcinogen
EPA CTX / IARC—Group 1 - Carcinogenic to humans
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 2 positive / 4 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 2 positive / 4 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Eye Irrit. 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Irritation: Skin Irrit. 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Skin Sens. 1 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Sah (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Skin sensitisation - category 1 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Skin sensitization - Category 1A (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Category 1 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Eye Irrit. 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Irritation: Skin Irrit. 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Skin Sens. 1 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Category 6.4A (Category 2A) (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Category 6.5B (Category 1) (score: moderate)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—skin irritation: in vivo: Studies Indicate No Significant Irritation (score: low)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—eye irritation: in vivo: Studies Indicate No Significant Irritation (score: low)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—skin sensitisation: in vivo (non-LLNA): Not likely to be sensitizing (score: low)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter beryllium

  • Industrial Facilities — Manufacturing plants, Chemical storage areas, Waste treatment sites
  • Occupational Environments — Factories, Warehouses, Transportation vehicles

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Beryllium:

  • Exposure reduction (no chemical substitute)
    Trade-offs: Exposure reduction does not eliminate the hazard but lowers risk to acceptable levels when alternatives are not available or practical. Requires ongoing monitoring and compliance.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is beryllium safe for pets?

Beryllium is acutely toxic (GHS Category 1-3). Dogs may access through household exposure. Contact veterinarian immediately if exposure suspected.

What products contain beryllium?

Beryllium appears in: Manufacturing plants (Industrial facilities); Chemical storage areas (Industrial facilities); Factories (Occupational environments); Warehouses (Occupational environments).

Why do regulators disagree about beryllium?

Beryllium has been classified by 25 agencies including IARC, US EPA, EPA CTX / NIOSH, EPA CTX / IRIS, EPA CTX / IRIS, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Beryllium in the pets app

Look up products containing beryllium, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (3)
  1. IARC Monographs Volume 100C: Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds — Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, and Dusts (2012) — regulatory
  2. US EPA IRIS: Beryllium and Compounds — Toxicological Review (Final) (2021) — regulatory
  3. OSHA Beryllium Standard 29 CFR 1910.1024: Occupational Exposure to Beryllium (2017) — regulatory

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →