Pet Safety / Compounds / Thallium

Is Thallium safe for dogs and cats?

High risk for pets

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

What is thallium?

Also known as: Ramor, Thallium, elemental, Thulium Metallicum, lambda1-thallanylium.

IUPAC name
thallium
CAS number
7440-28-0
Molecular formula
Tl
Molecular weight
204.383 g/mol
SMILES
[Tl]
PubChem CID
5359464

Risk for dogs

High risk

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

Risk for cats

High risk

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

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Thallium.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
US EPA—Carcinogenic/MCL classified

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 thallium

  • 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 Thallium:

  • Process controls to minimize degradant formation
    Trade-offs: Additional manufacturing cost
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is thallium safe for pets?

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

What products contain thallium?

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

See Thallium in the pets app

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

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Sources (2)
  1. ATSDR: Toxicological Profile for Thallium — Acute Toxicity, Alopecia Triad, K⁺-Mimicry Mechanism, Poisoning History, and Environmental Exposure (1992) — regulatory
  2. US EPA IRIS: Thallium (I) — Oral Reference Dose, Drinking Water MCL (0.002 mg/L), Peripheral Neuropathy Endpoint, and Chronic Toxicity Assessment (1996) — 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 →