The GHS Health Hazard Pictogram: What It Means

Health hazard pictogram (GHS08): red diamond border with a black symbol on white — **GHS08 · Health hazard**
Used for carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicity, respiratory sensitizers and target organ toxicity.

Short answer: the health hazard pictogram — a person's head and shoulders with a star-shaped burst on the chest — warns of serious, often long-term health effects: cancer, genetic damage, reproductive toxicity, respiratory sensitization (allergy or asthma), damage to organs and aspiration hazards. It is one of the eight pictograms OSHA requires on chemical labels.

What the health hazard pictogram covers

OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard pictogram QuickCard (OSHA 3491, 2024 revision) lists the hazards it stands for:

Carcinogen
Mutagenicity (germ cell mutagenicity)
Reproductive toxicity
Respiratory sensitizer
Target organ toxicity
Aspiration toxicity

Unlike the flame or corrosion symbols, which warn about something that happens immediately, most of these hazards are about what exposure can do over time. The hazard statement beside the pictogram tells you which one applies.

Hazard statements and signal words

Appendix C to 29 CFR 1910.1200 (section C.4) assigns the pictogram, signal word and hazard statement for each category:

Hazard class	Category	Signal word	Hazard statement
Carcinogenicity	1A, 1B	Danger	May cause cancer
Carcinogenicity	2	Warning	Suspected of causing cancer
Germ cell mutagenicity	1A, 1B	Danger	May cause genetic defects
Germ cell mutagenicity	2	Warning	Suspected of causing genetic defects
Reproductive toxicity	1A, 1B	Danger	May damage fertility or the unborn child
Reproductive toxicity	2	Warning	Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child
Respiratory sensitization	1	Danger	May cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled
Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure	1	Danger	Causes damage to organs
Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure	2	Warning	May cause damage to organs
Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure	1	Danger	Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure	2	Warning	May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
Aspiration hazard	1	Danger	May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways

Two things are easy to miss. First, the health hazard pictogram can carry Warning as well as Danger, so the pictogram alone does not tell you severity. Second, single-exposure target organ toxicity in category 3 (“May cause respiratory irritation” or “May cause drowsiness or dizziness”) uses the exclamation mark, not the health hazard symbol. The statement “May cause harm to breast-fed children” carries no pictogram and no signal word.

What it looks like

Appendix C to 29 CFR 1910.1200 defines every pictogram the same way: a square set at a point with a black hazard symbol on a white background and a red frame wide enough to be clearly visible (C.2.3.1), which is why pictograms look like red diamonds. A red frame with no symbol inside is not a pictogram and is not permitted on a label, and each pictogram may appear only once on a label even when several hazards call for it (C.2.3.4).

Health hazard vs. exclamation mark

Both are health symbols, and Appendix C keeps them from doubling up. If the health hazard pictogram is on a label for respiratory sensitization, the exclamation mark must not appear for skin sensitization or for skin or eye irritation (C.2.1.4). Otherwise the two can appear together when a product has both a serious and a milder hazard — for example a suspected carcinogen that is also a skin irritant.

Common products that carry the health hazard pictogram

Solvents such as toluene and xylene carry it, as do methanol, fuels like gasoline and kerosene, and ethylene glycol antifreeze. Each guide shows which classifications on the sheet put it there. To label a smaller container of any of them, use the free GHS label maker.

Free, no signup: SDS search finds the manufacturer's safety data sheet for a product, and section 2 of that sheet lists exactly which hazards earned the pictogram. Then use the free GHS label maker to print a label with the right pictograms for a spray bottle or other secondary container.

Frequently asked questions

What does the health hazard pictogram mean?

It warns of serious health effects, many of them long-term. Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard it is used for carcinogens, germ cell mutagens, reproductive toxicity, respiratory sensitizers, specific target organ toxicity and aspiration hazards.

What does the pictogram of a silhouette with a starburst on the chest mean?

That is the health hazard pictogram. It means the chemical can cause a serious health effect such as cancer, genetic defects, harm to fertility or the unborn child, allergy or asthma symptoms if inhaled, damage to organs, or death if swallowed and it enters the airways.

Does the health hazard pictogram always mean Danger?

No. Category 1 carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicants and target organ toxicants, respiratory sensitizers and aspiration hazards carry Danger, but category 2 of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity and target organ toxicity carries Warning. A label shows only one signal word, so Danger for any hazard on the label wins.

Are health hazards such as carcinogens represented in the standard pictograms?

Yes. Carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicants, respiratory sensitizers, target organ toxicants and aspiration hazards are represented by the health hazard pictogram. Acute toxicity is represented by the skull and crossbones or the exclamation mark, and skin corrosion and serious eye damage by the corrosion pictogram.

Can the health hazard pictogram and the exclamation mark appear on the same label?

Yes, when a product has both kinds of hazard. The exception: if the health hazard pictogram is used for respiratory sensitization, the exclamation mark must not also be used for skin sensitization or skin or eye irritation.

This guide summarises the cited rules for general information and is not legal advice.

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