EPA Announces Preliminary Decision and Suggested Reductive Steps for TCVP, Regulating Environmental Impact
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that its Proposed Interim Decision (PID) for the pesticide tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP), specifically concerning its use in pet collars, is currently under review. As of August 12, 2025, no formal announcement of restriction or cancellation impacting pet collars has been made publicly available.
The PID, including the Human Health Draft Risk Assessment (HH DRA), is open for public comment for 60 days. The EPA has proposed mitigation measures to reduce human and environmental exposure to TCVP, such as prohibiting certain application methods, adopting additional personal protective equipment, and enhancing reporting and sales data for TCVP pet products.
The EPA has been evaluating the safety and registration of TCVP due to concerns about potential risks to human health and the environment from continued use. This evaluation is part of the formal 15-year registration review process for pesticides.
In 2009, the EPA received a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requesting the cancellation of all pet uses of TCVP. In response, the Agency issued a revised response on October 6, 2022, stating it would begin drafting a proposed Notice of Intent to Cancel (NOIC) for TCVP pet collars. However, as of August 2025, no NOIC has been issued.
Hartz, the registrant for TCVP pet products, submitted new data on potential human exposure from TCVP pet collars. The EPA used this new data in its revised HH DRA and identified no human health risks of concern.
The ecological draft risk assessment identifies runoff from manure applications as the primary route of exposure for aquatic non-target organisms. The PID and supporting documents can be found in the public docket at www.regulations.gov (Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0316).
Interested parties should monitor EPA announcements and the Federal Register for updates regarding the PID for TCVP in pet collars. For more detailed historical context or regulatory background on TCVP, please refer to additional resources.
- The proposed interim decision for the pesticide tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) in pet collars, which includes the Human Health Draft Risk Assessment (HH DRA), is open to public comments for 60 days.
- The Ecological Draft Risk Assessment identifies runoff from manure applications as the primary route of exposure for aquatic non-target organisms, emphasizing the importance of medical-conditions, health-and-wellness, and environmental science in assessing the safety and registration of pesticides like TCVP.
- In the context of the ongoing review of the Proposed Interim Decision (PID) for TCVP in pet collars, interested parties should monitor EPA announcements and the Federal Register for updates, as well as consider the implications of science in making informed decisions regarding the use of pesticides in products and pet collars, supporting the broader field of environmental science.
