Title: risk characterisation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - risk characterisation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.14999
Status: current

Definition
Outcome of hazard identification and risk estimation applied to a specific use of a substance or occurrence of an environmental health hazard.

Note
Risk characterization requires quantitative data on the exposure of organisms or people at risk in the specific situation. The end product is a quantitative statement about the proportion of organisms or people affected in a target population.

Related Terms
- hazard identification: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14735
- population: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14932

Source
- PAC, 2009, 81, 829. 'Glossary of terms used in ecotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)' on page 940 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-08-07-09)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14999/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14999/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14999/xml

Citation: Citation: 'risk characterisation' 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.14999
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-29T18:54:10+00:00