Outdoor & Yard / Compounds / MCPA

MCPA in the yard and garden

Moderate risk for your yard

MCPA — herbicide.

What is mcpa?

Also known as: 2-METHYL-4-CHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID, (4-Chloro-2-methylphenoxy)acetic acid, Zelan, Mephanac.

CAS number
94-74-6
Molecular formula
C9H9ClO3
Molecular weight
200.62 g/mol
SMILES
CC1=C(C=CC(=C1)Cl)OCC(=O)O
PubChem CID
7204

Risk for people, pets,

Moderate risk

MCPA — herbicide.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified MCPA.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EDC Assessment—Suspected endocrine disruptor

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 your yard encounter mcpa

  • Agricultural Products — crop treatment

Safer alternatives

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

  • Organic mulching; Mechanical weeding; IPM
    Trade-offs: Labor-intensive; effective for small-scale or precision applications; no chemical residues; not scalable to large commercial operations without significant cost increase.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional

Frequently asked questions

Is mcpa safe for your yard?

MCPA — herbicide.

What products contain mcpa?

MCPA appears in: crop treatment (Agricultural products).

See MCPA in the outdoor app

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

Open in outdoor View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem (2026) — database

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 →