COSHH symbols and what the nine GB hazard pictograms mean
COSHH symbols are the nine GB CLP hazard pictograms on chemical labels. What each one means, the old orange symbols, and where classification comes from.
COSHH symbols and what each hazard pictogram means
"COSHH symbols" is the everyday name for the hazard symbols UK chemical labels use under the GB CLP Regulation. Each is a black symbol on a white diamond with a red border (HSE).
COSHH itself doesn't define the symbols: they come from the supplier's classification under GB CLP (HSE), so read the label and the safety data sheet, not just the symbol (HSE). Workplace warning signs are a different system, a black picture on a yellow triangle (HSE).
COSHH symbol meanings
Codes and classes are in CLP Annex V.
| Code | Symbol | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| GHS01 | Exploding bomb | Unstable explosives, Divisions 1.1 to 1.4, self-reactives and organic peroxides Types A and B |
| GHS02 | Flame | Flammable gases, aerosols, liquids and solids, pyrophoric and self-heating substances, flammable gas on contact with water, self-reactives and organic peroxides Types B to F |
| GHS03 | Flame over circle | Oxidising gases, liquids and solids |
| GHS04 | Gas cylinder | Compressed, liquefied, refrigerated liquefied or dissolved gas |
| GHS05 | Corrosion | Corrosive to metals, skin corrosion or serious eye damage |
| GHS06 | Skull and crossbones | Acute toxicity categories 1 to 3: toxic or fatal if swallowed, in contact with skin or inhaled |
| GHS07 | Exclamation mark | Acute toxicity category 4, skin and eye irritation, skin sensitiser, respiratory irritation, narcotic effects, ozone layer |
| GHS08 | Serious health hazard sign | Respiratory sensitiser, mutagen, carcinogen, reproductive toxicity, target organ toxicity, aspiration hazard |
| GHS09 | Environment hazard symbol | Hazardous to the aquatic environment (dead tree and fish) |
HSE names the exclamation mark "Health hazard/Hazardous to the ozone layer" (HSE). It is also the irritant symbol, though it covers more than irritation. The serious health hazard sign is the silhouette: head and shoulders with a star over the chest (HSE).
A product can carry several pictograms (HSE). The skull and crossbones removes the exclamation mark, and corrosion removes it for skin or eye irritation (Article 26). A missing exclamation mark doesn't rule out an irritant.
Which symbols bring a product under COSHH
COSHH covers a substance that meets any CLP health hazard class, whether or not it has been classified under that Regulation. It also covers substances with a workplace exposure limit, biological agents, dust at or above 10 mg/m3 inhalable or 4 mg/m3 respirable (8-hour average), and anything else that creates a health risk at work (reg 2). An unlabelled dust or fume can still count.
In practice, the health hazard symbols are the ones that point to COSHH: the skull and crossbones, the health hazard silhouette, the exclamation mark, and corrosion for skin or eyes. Two exceptions, corrosion shown only for metals and the exclamation mark shown only for the ozone layer, are not health hazards (Annex V). HSE's rule of thumb: "If the packaging has any of the hazard symbols then it is classed as a hazardous substance" (HSE).
The explosive, flammable and gas cylinder symbols point to DSEAR rather than COSHH. DSEAR covers fires and explosions and, since 2015, gases under pressure and substances corrosive to metals (HSE).
The old orange symbols they replaced
The old CHIP symbols, the orange squares people remember, were printed in black on an orange-yellow background (CHIP 2002 reg 10). The letters were E explosive, O oxidising, F+ extremely flammable, F highly flammable, T+ very toxic, T toxic, C corrosive, Xn harmful, Xi irritant and N dangerous for the environment (Schedule 2). The black cross used for harmful and irritant no longer appears on supply labels.
CLP replaced CHIP on 1 June 2015 and adopted the UN Globally Harmonised System for classification and labelling (HSE). Mixtures already on the shelf before that date could keep the old label until 1 June 2017 (Article 61), so an orange label in the store today is at least nine years old and a reason to get the current SDS.
Where the classification behind a symbol comes from
Some substances have a binding entry on HSE's GB mandatory classification and labelling (GB MCL) list. Manufacturers, importers and downstream users classify any hazard class that entry does not cover, plus substances with no entry and every mixture (HSE). Northern Ireland follows EU CLP, not GB CLP, but the nine pictograms are the same (HSE).
You do not classify a product you buy: read the supplier's label (the "COSHH label") and the SDS. The label includes hazard and precautionary statements, pictograms and a signal word where they apply (Article 17). The signal word is either Danger or Warning (HSE). In the SDS, sections 2 and 16 describe the dangers, and sections 4 to 8 cover emergencies, storage and handling (INDG136).
RegAffairs AI answers this question from the GB CLP text and the GB MCL list.