<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazard symbol</span>

Hazard symbol

<p><b>Hazard symbols</b> or <b>warning symbols</b> are recognisable <a href="/en/Symbol" title="Symbol" class="wl">symbols</a> designed to warn about hazardous or dangerous materials, locations, or objects, including <a href="/en/Electromagnetic_field" title="Electromagnetic field" class="wl">electromagnetic fields</a>, <a href="/en/Electric_current" title="Electric current" class="wl">electric currents</a>; harsh, toxic or unstable chemicals (<a href="/en/Acid" title="Acid" class="wl">acids</a>, <a href="/en/Poison" title="Poison" class="wl">poisons</a>, <a href="/en/Explosive" title="Explosive" class="wl">explosives</a>); and <a href="/en/Radioactivity" title="Radioactivity" class="mw-redirect wl">radioactivity</a>. The use of hazard symbols is often regulated by law and directed by <a href="/en/Standards_organization" title="Standards organization" class="wl">standards organizations</a>. Hazard symbols may appear with different colors, backgrounds, borders, and supplemental information in order to specify the type of hazard and the level of threat (for example, <a href="/en/Toxicity_class" title="Toxicity class" class="wl">toxicity classes</a>).  Warning symbols are used in many places in lieu of or addition to written warnings as they are quickly recognized (faster than reading a written warning) and more commonly understood (the same symbol can be recognized as having the same meaning to speakers of different <a href="/en/Language" title="Language" class="wl">languages</a>).</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Warning symbol on locations or products</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:GHS-pictogram-skull.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:GHS-pictogram-skull.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/GHS-pictogram-skull.svg/220px-GHS-pictogram-skull.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="724" data-file-height="724" data-file-type="drawing" height="220" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/GHS-pictogram-skull.svg/330px-GHS-pictogram-skull.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/GHS-pictogram-skull.svg/440px-GHS-pictogram-skull.svg.png 2x" alt="GHS-pictogram-skull.svg"></a><figcaption><a href="/en/Skull_and_crossbones_(poison)" title="Skull and crossbones (poison)" class="mw-redirect wl">Skull and crossbones</a>, a common symbol for poison and other sources of <a href="/en/Death" title="Death" class="wl">lethal danger</a> (<a href="/en/GHS_hazard_pictograms" title="GHS hazard pictograms" class="wl">GHS hazard pictograms</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Hazard symbols or warning symbols are recognisable symbols designed to warn about hazardous or dangerous materials, locations, or objects, including electromagnetic fields, electric currents; harsh, toxic or unstable chemicals ; and radioactivity. The use of hazard symbols is often regulated by law and directed by standards organizations. Hazard symbols may appear with different colors, backgrounds, borders, and supplemental information in order to specify the type of hazard and the level of threat .  Warning symbols are used in many places in lieu of or addition to written warnings as they are quickly recognized and more commonly understood . 