UK-built · CDM · CIS · MTD
The nine hazard pictograms on a chemical label, what each one means and where trades meet it, and the old orange symbols they replaced.
COSHH symbols are the nine hazard pictograms on the label of a hazardous chemical, each a black symbol on a white diamond with a red border. They come from the GB CLP Regulation, which sets how suppliers classify and label chemicals in Great Britain. COSHH is the law on controlling those chemicals at work.
Each pictogram stands for a group of hazards. The flame covers flammable liquids, gases, aerosols and solids. The exclamation mark covers irritation, skin allergy and the less severe acute toxicity. The health hazard symbol marks serious harm such as asthma from isocyanates, cancer and damage to organs.
The nine replaced the orange squares of the old CHIP system. CLP labels became compulsory for substances on 1 December 2010 and for mixtures on 1 June 2015. Older stock could keep its orange label until 1 June 2017 at the latest.
A symbol says what a product can do. It does not say what your team should do about it. That comes from the safety data sheet and your own COSHH assessment.
Each card gives the name HSE uses, the symbol and its GHS code, what it means and where trades meet it. The hazard classes are those in GB CLP Annex V. A product can carry several.
Exploding bomb, GHS01. The product can explode, or decompose violently.
Found onRarely on products bought for trade work. Organic peroxide hardeners for polyester resin and GRP roofing usually carry the flame instead: only the most reactive organic peroxides, types A and B, take the exploding bomb.
Hazard classesUnstable explosives; explosives of divisions 1.1 to 1.4; self-reactive substances and mixtures, types A and B; organic peroxides, types A and B.
Flame, GHS02. The product, or the vapour it gives off, catches fire easily.
Found onSolvent-based paints, thinners and some contact adhesives; aerosol paints and expanding foam; propane, butane and acetylene for heating, roofing torches and brazing.
Hazard classesFlammable gases (categories 1A, 1B); aerosols (categories 1, 2); flammable liquids; flammable solids; pyrophoric liquids and solids; self-heating substances; substances that give off flammable gas in contact with water; self-reactive substances and organic peroxides, types B to F; desensitised explosives.
Flame over circle, GHS03. The product can cause a fire or make one burn more fiercely, because it supplies oxygen.
Found onOxygen cylinders for oxy-fuel cutting, welding and brazing, and calcium hypochlorite granules and tablets for pool and water treatment.
Hazard classesOxidising gases (category 1); oxidising liquids and oxidising solids (categories 1 to 3).
Gas cylinder, GHS04. The container holds gas under pressure and may explode if heated. Refrigerated gas can cause cold burns.
Found onCylinders of oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and acetylene for welding, nitrogen for pressure testing, and refrigerant. On a cylinder that already shows the flame or the skull and crossbones, this symbol is optional.
Hazard classesGases under pressure: compressed, liquefied, refrigerated liquefied and dissolved gases.
Corrosion, GHS05. The product burns skin, causes serious eye damage, or corrodes metal.
Found onDrain cleaners, descalers, acid brick and patio cleaners, and some heavy-duty degreasers. Some cleaning products carry it for serious eye damage alone, not skin burns.
Hazard classesCorrosive to metals (category 1); skin corrosion (category 1, sub-categories 1A, 1B, 1C); serious eye damage (category 1).
Skull and crossbones, GHS06. A small amount swallowed, breathed in or absorbed through the skin can be fatal or toxic.
Found onLess common on everyday trade products. Hydrofluoric acid carries it, and so can brick, stone and metal cleaners made with it, depending on strength. Weaker ones may show only corrosion: read the label.
Hazard classesAcute toxicity, oral, dermal and inhalation (categories 1 to 3).
Exclamation mark, GHS07. Less severe harm: skin or eye irritation, skin allergy, drowsiness, breathing irritation, or harmful if swallowed, breathed in or absorbed. It also marks harm to the ozone layer.
Found onMany cleaning products and degreasers, epoxy resins and adhesives that can cause skin allergy, and solvents that cause drowsiness or dizziness.
Hazard classesAcute toxicity (category 4); skin irritation (category 2); eye irritation (category 2); skin sensitisation (categories 1, 1A, 1B); specific target organ toxicity, single exposure (category 3: respiratory tract irritation, narcotic effects); hazardous to the ozone layer (category 1).
Health hazard, GHS08. Serious harm, often long-term or delayed. It covers asthma from breathing a sensitiser, cancer, genetic damage, harm to fertility or the unborn child, and organ damage. It also marks death or lung damage if a swallowed liquid enters the airways.
Found onExpanding polyurethane foams, which can cause asthma and are suspected of causing cancer, and some isocyanate two-pack paints and hardeners. White spirit, for the aspiration hazard. Any product classified as a carcinogen.
Hazard classesRespiratory sensitisation (categories 1, 1A, 1B); germ cell mutagenicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity (categories 1A, 1B, 2); specific target organ toxicity, single exposure (categories 1, 2) and repeated exposure (categories 1, 2); aspiration hazard (category 1).
Environment, GHS09. Toxic to fish and other aquatic life, in some cases with long lasting effects. Keep it out of drains and watercourses.
Found onMany woodworm killers, timber treatments and other biocides, and many epoxy resins.
Hazard classesHazardous to the aquatic environment: acute category 1, and chronic categories 1 and 2.
Under GB CLP Article 26, a stronger symbol can displace a weaker one. Where the skull and crossbones applies, the exclamation mark does not appear. Where corrosion applies, the exclamation mark is not used for skin or eye irritation. Where the health hazard symbol is used for a breathing allergy, the exclamation mark is not used for skin allergy or irritation.
Before CLP, supply labels in Great Britain carried a black symbol on an orange-yellow square, under the CHIP Regulations. Seven symbols covered ten indications of danger. The conversions below follow the translation table in GB CLP Annex VII.
Replaced by the exploding bomb. There is no direct conversion: the product is reclassified against the CLP criteria.
Replaced by the flame over circle for oxidising gases, liquids and solids. Organic peroxides, which also carried O, now take the flame, and the most reactive the exploding bomb as well.
Replaced by the flame. Some liquids that carried no symbol under CHIP, only the phrase R10 (flammable), now carry the flame as well.
Replaced by the skull and crossbones for acute poisoning. Where T marked serious organ damage, cancer, genetic damage or harm to fertility or the unborn child, the conversion is to the health hazard symbol.
One black cross served both. Most of it went to the exclamation mark. Breathing allergy, suspected cancer, aspiration hazard and organ damage went to the health hazard symbol, and risk of serious damage to eyes went to corrosion.
Replaced by the corrosion symbol, which now also covers serious eye damage and metal corrosion.
Replaced by the environment symbol for aquatic hazards. Substances that harm the ozone layer, once marked N, now carry the exclamation mark.
CLP labels became compulsory for substances on 1 December 2010 and for mixtures on 1 June 2015. Stock already on the market could keep its old label until 1 December 2012 and 1 June 2017 respectively. The gas cylinder has no orange forerunner. An orange label in the store today means old stock: get the current safety data sheet, as the classification may have changed.
The pictogram is one of eight label elements GB CLP sets for a hazardous product in packaging, and the label is written in English. Packs sold to the public also state the quantity.
Danger for the more severe hazards, Warning for the less severe. Where Danger is used, Warning does not also appear.
GB CLP Article 20A fixed phrase for each hazard, with a code. The H200s are physical hazards, the H300s health hazards and the H400s environmental hazards. Examples: H225 Highly flammable liquid and vapour. H317 May cause an allergic skin reaction. H411 Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
GB CLP Article 21 and Annex IIIHow to use, store and dispose of the product safely. The codes run from general (P100s) through prevention (P200s), response (P300s) and storage (P400s) to disposal (P500s). Examples: P260 Do not breathe dust/fume/gas/mist/vapours/spray. P280 Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection. No more than six, unless the hazards need more.
GB CLP Articles 22 and 28, Annex IVThe product name, the same as on the safety data sheet. For a mixture, it also names the substances behind its most serious health classifications, usually no more than four.
GB CLP Article 18The name, address and telephone number of the supplier. It is the number to ring when the label leaves a question open, as HSE advises.
GB CLP Article 17Extra statements set by GB CLP, such as the codes beginning EUH that carried over some old risk phrases. Unless the label already identifies them, any mixture containing isocyanates must carry EUH204: Contains isocyanates. May produce an allergic reaction. A hazardous product must not be called non-toxic, non-harmful or ecological on its label or packaging.
GB CLP Article 25 and Annex IIA pictogram flags a hazard in a product. Whether your team is at risk, and what keeps them safe, is the job of the COSHH assessment and the safety data sheet.
A symbol describes the product, not the job. COSHH regulation 6 requires the assessment to consider the level, type and duration of exposure and the circumstances of the work. HSE warns that wet cement can burn badly when trapped against the skin, inside a boot for example. No pictogram says that.
COSHH regulation 6Some hazard categories have no pictogram at all, such as flammable gases in category 2, aerosols in category 3 and the lower aquatic chronic categories 3 and 4. A label with no symbol can still carry hazard statements.
GB CLP Annex VSilica dust from cutting kerbs, wood dust from sanding and fume from welding come from the process, not a labelled container. COSHH still covers them. Its definition takes in substances with a workplace exposure limit and any substance that creates a risk by the way it is used. It also covers any dust at or above 10 mg/m3 inhalable or 4 mg/m3 respirable, as an 8-hour average. See the dust and silica and hot works and welding templates.
COSHH regulation 2These come from the safety data sheet and your own assessment, which must consider the supplier’s information. Read what is in a safety data sheet, then record the findings on the COSHH assessment template.
COSHH regulation 6(2)(b)The free COSHH symbols poster shows the nine hazard pictograms, each with its name and a one-line meaning. It prints at A4 or A3, for the chemical store, the van or the welfare cabin.
Download the COSHH symbols poster (PDF)
A poster supports the information and training COSHH regulation 12 requires. It does not replace the assessment or access to the safety data sheets, which regulation 12 also covers. Brief it at a toolbox talk.
In Unibuild, each hazardous substance holds its safety data sheet and its supplier, linked to the jobs, materials and purchase orders that use it. Review dates are tracked, every version is kept, and the current one is the one out on site.
When an auditor or a principal contractor asks for the COSHH register, it is a search by name or supplier, not a spreadsheet somebody else kept.
Great Britain law and HSE guidance, read on the dates above. Northern Ireland has its own COSHH Regulations.
Unibuild keeps each substance’s data sheet and supplier against the jobs, materials and purchase orders that use it, with review dates tracked and every version kept.