Title: safety
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - safety
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.14407
Status: current

Definition
Reciprocal of risk: practical certainty that injury will not result from a hazard under defined conditions.



Notes
1) Safety of a drug or other substance in the context of human health: the extent to which a substance may be used in the amount necessary for the intended therapeutic purpose with a minimum risk of adverse health effects.
2) Safety (toxicological): The high probability that injury will not result from exposure to a substance under defined conditions of quantity and manner of use, ideally controlled to minimize exposure.

Source
- PAC, 2010, 82, 679. 'Explanatory dictionary of key terms in toxicology: Part II (IUPAC Recommendations 2010)' on page 731 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-09-03-01)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14407/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14407/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14407/xml

Citation: Citation: 'safety' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.14407
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Accessed: 2026-04-19T08:13:16+00:00