skadelighet

Skadelighet is a Norwegian term meaning harmfulness or deleteriousness. It denotes the inherent capacity of an agent, action, or condition to cause harm to living beings, ecosystems, or property. The concept is used across science, health, safety, and policy to describe how dangerous something could be in principle.

Etymology: the word combines skadelig, harmful, with the abstract noun suffix -het, yielding 'skadelighet' as the state or quality of being harmful.

In practice, skadelighet differentiates from risk. Skadelighet refers to the potential to cause harm (hazard), whereas risk also requires exposure and probability. For example, a highly toxic chemical may have high skadelighet, but the actual risk depends on dose, route of exposure, and duration.

Applications: in toxicology and pharmacology, skadelighet helps classify substances by their potential to cause injury or disease. In environmental science and occupational safety, it informs regulation, labeling, and preventive measures. In ethics and public health, it underpins judgments about acceptable risk and precautionary principles.

Assessment of skadelighet involves mechanisms of harm, dose–response relationships, exposure assessment, and consideration of vulnerable populations. It is a key factor in risk communication and policy decisions that aim to reduce harm without unnecessary restrictions.

See also: hazard, risk, toxicity, deleteriousness.