Meet the 9 GHS hazard pictograms

Nine diamonds, the same meaning the world over. They appear on packaging with dangerous contents and are laid down in the United Nations GHS system and the European CLP regulation. Here is what each one means — and which official warning statements go with it.

One diamond, one meaning, everywhere

A pictogram is not a picture a manufacturer picks. Which symbol goes on a package follows from how the substance is classified — and that same classification decides which warning statement, the H-statement, appears on the label. So every pictogram comes with a fixed list of H-statements. Know the nine diamonds and you know, for any bottle you pick up, which corner the danger is in — even when you cannot read the language on the label.

  • GHS01 — Explosive GHS01

    Explosive

    Ontplofbaar

    This substance can go off in one blow — from a knock, from friction, from a spark, or simply from heat. Whatever is around it goes with it. The same symbol appears on substances that decompose when heated and can then still explode.

    Official name: Exploding bomb

    7 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H200
    Unstable explosives.
    H201
    Explosive; mass explosion hazard.
    H202
    Explosive, severe projection hazard.
    H203
    Explosive; fire, blast or projection hazard.
    H204
    Fire or projection hazard.
    H240
    Heating may cause an explosion.
    H241
    Heating may cause a fire or explosion.
  • GHS02 — Flammable GHS02

    Flammable

    Ontvlambaar

    Anything that catches fire easily: gases, aerosols, liquids and their vapours, and solids. Some do not even need a spark — they ignite the moment they meet air, or they release flammable gas as soon as they get wet.

    Official name: Flame

    18 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H206
    Fire, blast or projection hazard; increased risk of explosion if desensitising agent is reduced.
    H207
    Fire or projection hazard; increased risk of explosion if desensitising agent is reduced.
    H208
    Fire hazard; increased risk of explosion if desensitising agent is reduced.
    H220
    Extremely flammable gas.
    H222
    Extremely flammable aerosol.
    H223
    Flammable aerosol.
    H224
    Extremely flammable liquid and vapour.
    H225
    Highly flammable liquid and vapour.
    H226
    Flammable liquid and vapour.
    H228
    Flammable solid.
    H232
    May ignite spontaneously if exposed to air.
    H241
    Heating may cause a fire or explosion.
    H242
    Heating may cause a fire.
    H250
    Catches fire spontaneously if exposed to air.
    H251
    Self-heating: may catch fire.
    H252
    Self-heating in large quantities; may catch fire.
    H260
    In contact with water releases flammable gases which may ignite spontaneously.
    H261
    In contact with water releases flammable gases.
  • GHS03 — Oxidizing GHS03

    Oxidizing

    Oxiderend

    This substance does not burn itself, but it gives off oxygen. That makes an existing fire far fiercer, and gets things burning that would not burn on their own. Which is exactly why this is the pictogram people misread most often.

    Official name: Flame over circle

    3 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H270
    May cause or intensify fire; oxidiser.
    H271
    May cause fire or explosion; strong oxidiser.
    H272
    May intensify fire; oxidiser.
  • GHS04 — Gas under pressure GHS04

    Gas under pressure

    Gas onder druk

    The contents are under high pressure, or chilled so far that they stay liquid. If the container warms up, it can burst. Refrigerated gas causes cryogenic burns the moment it touches your skin.

    Official name: Gas cylinder

    2 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H280
    Contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated.
    H281
    Contains refrigerated gas; may cause cryogenic burns or injury.
  • GHS05 — Corrosive GHS05

    Corrosive

    Bijtend

    This substance eats into whatever it lands on: your skin, your eyes, and sometimes metal too. Eye damage can be permanent, and it happens faster than you can rinse.

    Official name: Corrosion

    3 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H290
    May be corrosive to metals.
    H314
    Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
    H318
    Causes serious eye damage.
  • GHS06 — Toxic GHS06

    Toxic

    Giftig

    A small amount is enough to make someone seriously ill, or worse. How it gets in makes no difference: swallowing, through the skin, or breathing it in — all three routes sit under this one pictogram.

    Official name: Skull and crossbones

    6 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H300
    Fatal if swallowed.
    H301
    Toxic if swallowed.
    H310
    Fatal in contact with skin.
    H311
    Toxic in contact with skin.
    H330
    Fatal if inhaled.
    H331
    Toxic if inhaled.
  • GHS07 — Health hazard GHS07

    Health hazard

    Gezondheidsgevaar

    The mildest of the health pictograms, and for that very reason the most underestimated. It covers irritation of skin, eyes or airways, allergic reactions, drowsiness or dizziness, and substances that are harmful without being deadly. It also appears on substances that damage the ozone layer.

    Official name: Exclamation mark

    9 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H302
    Harmful if swallowed.
    H312
    Harmful in contact with skin.
    H315
    Causes skin irritation.
    H317
    May cause an allergic skin reaction.
    H319
    Causes serious eye irritation.
    H332
    Harmful if inhaled.
    H335
    May cause respiratory irritation.
    H336
    May cause drowsiness or dizziness.
    H420
    Harms public health and the environment by destroying ozone in the upper atmosphere
  • GHS08 — Serious health hazard GHS08

    Serious health hazard

    Ernstig gezondheidsgevaar

    Harm you usually only notice much later: to your organs, your lungs, your DNA, your fertility or an unborn child. Substances that can cause cancer carry this symbol too, and substances that are fatal if you choke on them and they reach your lungs.

    Official name: Health hazard

    12 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H304
    May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.
    H334
    May cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled.
    H340
    May cause genetic defects
    H341
    Suspected of causing genetic defects
    H350
    May cause cancer
    H351
    Suspected of causing cancer
    H360
    May damage fertility or the unborn child
    H361
    Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child
    H370
    Causes damage to organs
    H371
    May cause damage to organs
    H372
    Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
    H373
    May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
  • GHS09 — Environmental hazard GHS09

    Environmental hazard

    Milieugevaar

    This pictogram is not about you, but about what happens when the substance ends up in water, soil or the drain. Harmful to everything living in water, often with effects that last a long time.

    Official name: Environment

    3 Show the H-statements

    Official H-statements for this pictogram

    H400
    Very toxic to aquatic life.
    H410
    Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
    H411
    Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.

The H-statements on this page are taken verbatim from the official CLP texts, linked to the pictograms following the ECHA guidance "Guidance on Labelling and Packaging", version 4.1 (May 2020), section 7.3. For a number of statements the supplier fills in more on the label — the route of exposure or the organ affected; that addition is not shown here.

What the pictograms do not tell you

A pictogram says which corner the danger is in, not how severe it is, and certainly not what to do about it. Two products carrying the same diamond can be far apart. That difference sits in the H-statement beside it, in the signal word — "Danger" outranks "Warning" — and in the safety data sheet, which sets out per product what the hazards are and how to protect yourself.

Not every warning gets a pictogram
Some H-statements appear on a label with no diamond of their own. H412 and H413, for instance, about long-lasting harm to aquatic life, or H362, about substances that may harm a breast-fed child. So no pictogram does not mean no risk. Read the statements without a picture too.

Two names deliberately depart from the official CLP wording: in this game GHS07 is called "Health hazard" (officially: Exclamation mark) and GHS08 "Serious health hazard" (officially: Health hazard). The underlying classification is unchanged; these names were chosen because they are clearer for children and non-specialists. The official name is shown with each pictogram.

Where this data comes from

The classification and the warning statements on this page are not ours. Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 — the CLP Regulation — lays down which pictogram belongs to which hazard class and how each H-statement reads. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes the accompanying guidance on labelling and packaging.

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