---
title: "Skull and crossbones (GHS06) — what it means"
description: "Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation. What the symbol looks like, what happens if you ignore it, and where its "
url: https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-toxic/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Skull and crossbones (GHS06)

**Skull and crossbones (GHS06): Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation.**

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## What it looks like

A human skull above two crossed bones, black on white in a red diamond.

## What it means

The severe end of the toxicity scale, categories 1 to 3, and it is the only pictogram that means a single small exposure can kill. Pesticides, methanol, some rodenticides and certain industrial chemicals carry it. GHS deliberately never puts the exclamation mark on the same hazard class, so a product bearing the skull will not also be softened with the milder pictogram for the same route of exposure. Read the accompanying hazard statement for the route — fatal if inhaled is a very different handling problem from harmful if swallowed.

> 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. |
| 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 skull and crossbones (ghs06) symbol mean?

Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation.

### What does it look like?

A human skull above two crossed bones, black on white in a red diamond.

## Related pages

- [Exclamation mark (GHS07)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-irritant/)
- [Health hazard (GHS08)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-health/)
- [Orange toxic (T, T+)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-eu-orange-toxic/)
- [Exploding bomb (GHS01)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-explosive/)
- [Flame (GHS02)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-flammable/)
- [Flame over circle (GHS03)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-oxidising/)
- [Gas cylinder (GHS04)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-gas-cylinder/)
- [Corrosion (GHS05)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-corrosive/)
- [Exclamation mark (GHS07)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-irritant/)
- [Health hazard (GHS08)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-health/)
- [Environment (GHS09)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-ghs-environment/)
- [Orange explosive (E)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-eu-orange-explosive/)
- [Orange oxidising (O)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/hazard-eu-orange-oxidising/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)