Climate & Environment
Toxicity
The degree to which a substance can harm living organisms — the core hazard property that chemical regulation exists to manage.
Definition
Toxicity is the inherent capacity of a substance to cause adverse effects in living organisms, characterised by the dose-response relationship: the founding insight of toxicology (Paracelsus) is that the dose makes the poison. Effects are classified by route and timing — acute or chronic, target organ (neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity), carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity — and by environmental compartment (aquatic toxicity), with standardised tests generating the values (LD50, NOAEL) used in risk assessment.
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