Pet Safety / Compounds / Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals

Is Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals safe for dogs and cats?

Elevated risk for pets

Not veterinary or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a veterinarian — consult one about your animal. Full disclaimer →

GHS Warning classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

What is cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals?

The IUPAC name is tellanylidenecadmium.

Also known as: tellanylidenecadmium, Cadmium telluride, Cadmium telluride (CdTe), Irtran 6.

IUPAC name
tellanylidenecadmium
CAS number
1306-25-8
Molecular formula
CdTe
Molecular weight
240.0 g/mol
SMILES
[Cd]=[Te]
PubChem CID
91501

Risk for dogs

Elevated risk

GHS Warning classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

Risk for cats

Elevated risk

GHS Warning classification. Cats lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 0 positive / 3 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 0 positive / 3 negative reports)
IARC2012Group 1Cadmium and cadmium compounds are carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 1), IARC Monographs Vol 100C (2012). Filled 2026-07-02 (D-300, Batch B) — safety.carcinogenicity.iarc_group was already correct; the regulatory.listings.iarc_group field was incomplete.

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 cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals

  • Contaminated Water — Mining site runoff, Industrial discharge, Old infrastructure
  • Food Chain — Fish from contaminated waters, Crops in contaminated soil

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals:

  • 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 cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals safe for pets?

GHS Warning classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

What products contain cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals?

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals appears in: Mining site runoff (Contaminated water); Industrial discharge (Contaminated water); Fish from contaminated waters (Food chain); Crops in contaminated soil (Food chain).

Why do regulators disagree about cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals?

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals has been classified by 2 agencies including EPA CTX / Genetox, IARC, 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 Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystals in the pets app

Look up products containing cadmium telluride (cdte) nanocrystals, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (4)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 91501 — database
  2. EPA CompTox Chemicals Dashboard — DTXSID0030950 — epa
  3. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 1306-25-8 — reference
  4. IARC Monographs Volume 100C (2012) — Cadmium and cadmium compounds (Group 1) (2012) — 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 →