- Note: This Saftey Signs article contains special characters.
The skull and crossbones, a common Safty Signs symbol for poison.
Hazard symbols are Safey Signs easily recognizable symbols designed to warn about hazardous materials or locations. The use of hazard symbols is often Safet Signs regulated by law and directed by standards organizations. Hazard symbols may Saefty Signs appear with different colors, backgrounds, borders and supplemental information in order to signify the type of hazard.
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Contents
- 1 Common hazard symbols
- 2 Radioactive sign
- 3 Biohazard sign
- 4 Toxic sign
- 5 Warning sign
- 6 European hazard symbols
- 7 See also
- 8 External links
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Common hazard symbols
| name |
symbol |
unicode |
image |
| toxic sign |
☠ |
U+2620 |
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| caution sign |
☡ |
U+2621 |
| radioactive sign |
☢ |
U+2622 |
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| Non-Ionizing Radiation sign |
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| biohazard sign |
☣ |
U+2623 |
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| Warning sign |
⚠ |
U+26A0 |
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| high voltage sign |
⚡ |
U+26A1 |
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Radioactive sign
The international radioactivity symbol first appeared in 1946, at the University of California, Berkeley Radiation Laboratory. At the time, it was rendered as magenta, and was set on a blue background.[1] It is drawn with a central circle of radius R, an internal radius of 1.5R and an external radius of 5R for the blades, which are separated from each other by 60°.[2]
Biohazard sign
Developed by Dow Chemical company in the sixties for their containment products.[3]
According to Charles Baldwin, an environmental-health engineer who contributed to its development:
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We wanted something that was memorable but meaningless, so we could educate people as to what it means. |
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(how to draw it[4])
Toxic sign
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Main article: Skull and crossbones
A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two bones crossed together under the skull. Today, it is generally used as a warning of danger (usually in regard to poisonous substances).
The symbol, or some variation thereof, was also featured on the Jolly Roger, the traditional flag of European and American pirates. It is also used by the Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University.
Today, the skull and crossbones is still the only standard symbol for poison.
Warning sign
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Main article: Exclamation mark
On warning signs, an exclamation mark is often used to draw attention to a warning of danger, hazards and the unexpected.There are several theories about the origins of the exclamation mark.
European hazard symbols
These hazard symbols for chemicals are defined in Annex II of Directive 67/548/EEC. A consolidated list with translations into other EU languages can be found in Directive 2001/59/EC (See the links section).
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Dangerous for the environment (N)
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The 'n' for harmful stands for the French word 'nocif', "noxious".
See also
- International Standard ISO 3864: Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs.
- British Standard BS 5378: Safety signs and colours.
- Pictogram
- Chemical hazard label
- WHMIS
- Warning sign
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Hazard symbols
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- ^ Origin of the Radiation Warning Symbol (Trefoil).
- ^ Biohazard and radioactive Symbol ,design and proportions.
- ^ Biohazard Symbol History.
- ^ Biohazard and radioactive Symbol ,designe and proportions.
- Safety symbols collection for hazard alerts A symbol library which offers various signs in the GIF and EPS formats. Licensed for free use only for writing technical documents.
- European Chemicals Bureau
- Directive 2001/59/EC
- Hazchem information
Categories: Articles to be merged since October 2006 | Articles with sections needing expansion | European Union law | Symbols | Infographics | Occupational safety
