A preconceptual design has been developed for the3He Target/Blanket System for the Acclerator Production of Tritium (APT) Project. A major part of the design effort was to develop the safety approach and engineered safety systems. The APT safety approach has been provided if the target/blanket parameters deviate from the design operating range. The safety approach uses redundant and diverse systems to ensure high reliability for tripping the beam and removing the decay heat. This paper describes the general safety approach and its use of inherent saftey features and active‐ and passive‐engineered safety systems to meet or exceed the safety requirements. © American Institute of Physics 1995