At One Place

Exploding bomb (GHS01)

Exploding bomb (GHS01)
Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode.

What it looks like

A bomb bursting with fragments flying out, black on white inside a red diamond.

What it means

Rare on consumer products and mostly seen on fireworks, some ammunition primers, and industrial peroxides used in resins and hair bleaches. The hazard is not only fire: an explosive decomposition can be triggered by shock, friction or heat, so containers must not be dropped, ground or stored warm. Self-reactive substances and organic peroxides also need temperature control, and their labels usually carry the flame pictogram alongside this one.

Defined by UN GHS / EU CLP / OSHA HazCom. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

Other hazard warnings symbols

Symbol Means
Flame (GHS02) Flammable — or a substance that heats up, ignites in air, or gives off flammable gas when wet.
Flame over circle (GHS03) Oxidising — it will feed a fire, including one that has nothing else to burn with.
Gas cylinder (GHS04) Gas under pressure — compressed, liquefied, refrigerated or dissolved.
Corrosion (GHS05) Causes severe skin burns and eye damage, or corrodes metal.
Skull and crossbones (GHS06) Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation.
Exclamation mark (GHS07) Irritant, skin sensitiser, harmful if swallowed or inhaled, or may cause drowsiness — the lower-severity hazards.
Health hazard (GHS08) Serious long-term health effects — cancer, genetic damage, harm to fertility or the unborn child, organ damage, asthma from inhalation, or fatal if swallowed and it enters the airways.
Environment (GHS09) Hazardous to the aquatic environment — toxic to fish and other water life.
Orange explosive (E) Explosive, under the old European system.
Orange oxidising (O) Oxidising agent, under the old European system.
Orange flammable (F, F+) Highly flammable (F) or extremely flammable (F+), under the old European system.
Orange toxic (T, T+) Toxic (T) or very toxic (T+), under the old European system.
Orange harmful or irritant (Xn, Xi) Harmful (Xn) or irritant (Xi), under the old European system.
Orange corrosive (C) Corrosive, under the old European system.
Orange dangerous for the environment (N) Dangerous for the environment, under the old European system.
NFPA 704 fire diamond A US placard telling emergency responders how a stored chemical behaves in a fire.
Biohazard Biological material that can cause disease — blood, cultures, clinical waste.
Radiation trefoil Ionising radiation — a radioactive source or a device producing radiation.
Laser radiation Laser radiation — do not look into the beam.

Common questions

What does the exploding bomb (ghs01) symbol mean?
Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode.
What does it look like?
A bomb bursting with fragments flying out, black on white inside a red diamond.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked