Health hazard (GHS08)
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.
What it looks like
A human torso in silhouette with a white starburst on the chest radiating outwards.
What it means
The most under-read pictogram on the list. Its silhouette looks less alarming than a skull, and it covers the gravest hazards: carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicants, respiratory sensitisers and specific target organ toxicity. It also carries the aspiration hazard, which is why lamp oil, white spirit and other thin hydrocarbons bear it — swallowing them is dangerous mainly because a small amount reaching the lungs causes chemical pneumonia. These are effects from repeated or single exposure that appear later, so nothing about the moment of contact tells you anything went wrong.
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 |
|---|---|
| Exploding bomb (GHS01) | Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode. |
| 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. |
| 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 health hazard (ghs08) symbol mean?
- 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.
- What does it look like?
- A human torso in silhouette with a white starburst on the chest radiating outwards.
Related pages
- 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.
- Exploding bomb (GHS01) Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode.
- 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.
- 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.
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place