Have you ever seen those orange square symbols on bottles and cans like paint and detergent and wondered what they mean? Or you might already be familiar with the new black and red diamond COSHH symbols that replaced the orange symbols in 2017. Or that might have added to the confusion!
The orange and black square COSHH symbols that have been around for yearsChemicals Ordinance (hazard information and delivery packaging)- known as CHIP.
The COSHH red and black diamond symbols are more recent and were introduced by the European Regulation on Classification, Labeling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (known asCLP regulation🇧🇷 They have been implemented step by step since 2009.
What do both sets of symbols have in common? orange or red. Square or Diamond. They are hazard symbols assigned to chemicals and substances that are hazardous to health. The CHIP and CLP regulations ensure that hazards are clearly communicated to workers and consumers. On packaging, labeling and technical data sheets.
Both sets of COSHH symbols have been together for a while. However, the orange symbols have been phased out in the last decade. The red diamond symbols officially replaced the orange symbols on June 1st, 2017. The new red and black diamond symbols are what you need to know right now and we're going to cover them in this post.
Explosives
Combustible
oxidizing agent
gases a presion
Corrosive
Poisonous
Health risks
Serious Health Hazards
Dangerous for the environment
These names are not the official names given to each symbol. In fact, the regulations give each symbol a variety of meanings. Therefore, some categories may be known by other names, for example, health risk is sometimes referred to as "Caution". And serious health risks are also known as long-term health risks. Some are self-explanatory, others are a bit more confusing.
Although 9 COSHH symbols are officially used today (the current red and black ones), the orange pictograms may still be present on older stock and earlier Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). There are actually 18 COSHH symbols and we'll see which orange symbols have been replaced (and removed).
Not only the color of the COSHH symbols has changed. New meanings have been introduced and some symbols have been removed. If you want to know what's changed from the old orange and black square icons, we'll take a look at that too.
COSHH symbols are placed on hazardous material containers to provide information about the type of hazard a material poses. A substance can be classified into one or more of the following 9 types:
- Explosives
- Combustible
- oxidizing agent
- gas a presion
- Corrosive
- Poisonous
- Health risks
- Serious Health Hazards
- Dangerous for the environment
Explosives
It is chemical products and preparations that explode. This is a direct replacement for the previous explosives rating. The symbol is a pictogram of an explosive bomb.
meanings:
- unstable explosive
- Explosive; Danger of massive explosion.
- Explosive; serious risk of projection.
- Explosive; Fire, explosion or splash hazard.
- May explode en masse in fire.
Replaced:
Combustible
Chemicals that can ignite on contact with air, require brief exposure to an ignition source, have a very low flash point, or emit highly flammable gases on contact with water. It replaces the previous classifications of highly flammable and extremely flammable. The symbol is a flame.
meanings:
- Extremely flammable gas.
- flammable gas.
- Extremely flammable aerosol.
- Flammable spray.
- Highly flammable liquid and vapour.
- Flammable liquids and vapours.
- Flammable solid.
Replaced:
oxidizing agent
A classification for chemicals and preparations that react exothermically with other chemicals. Replaces the symbol of the previous oxidizer. The symbol is a flame in a circle.
meanings:
- May cause or intensify fire; oxidizing agent.
- This can cause a fire or explosion; strong oxidizing agent.
- It is usually found in bleach, medical oxygen, etc.
Replaced:
gas a presion
Gas stored under pressure, e.g. B. in gas tanks. This is a new symbol that was not represented in the old classification system. The symbol is a gas bottle.
meanings:
- Contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated.
- Contains refrigerated gas; may cause cryogenic burns or injury.
- It is usually found in gas holders.
Corrosive
Chemicals that can destroy living tissue on contact. Corresponds to the previous corrosion symbol, the pictogram shows material and skin corrosion.
meanings:
- May be corrosive to metals.
- Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
- It is commonly found in drain cleaners, acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, ammonia, etc.
Replaced:
Poisonous
Chemical substances harmful to health in small and very small quantities. Replacement of the old classifications toxic and very toxic. The symbol is a skull and crossbones.
meanings:
- Fatal if swallowed.
- Danger to life in case of skin contact.
- Fatal if inhaled.
- Toxic: if swallowed.
- Toxic in contact with skin.
- Toxic by inhalation.
Replaced:
health hazard
Chemical substances that can harm your health. It is also known to mean caution. This is the next replacement for the previous harmful and annoying reviews. The icon is an exclamation mark.
meanings:
- May cause respiratory irritation.
- May cause drowsiness or dizziness.
- May cause an allergic reaction on the skin.
- Causes serious eye irritation.
- Causes skin irritation.
- Dangerous if swallowed.
- Harmful in contact with skin.
- Harmful by inhalation.
- It harms public health and the environment by destroying ozone in the upper atmosphere.
Replaced:
Serious health risk
It is also known to pose long-term health risks. These are chemicals that can cause serious and long-term health damage. The icon shows a person with damage.
meanings:
- May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.
- Causes organ damage.
- May cause organ damage.
- May affect fertility or the unborn child.
- Suspected of damaging fertility or the fetus.
- It can cause cancer.
- suspicion of carcinogenicity.
- It can cause genetic defects.
- Suspected of causing genetic defects.
- May cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled.
Replaced:
Dangerous for the environment
Chemical substances that may pose an immediate or delayed hazard to one or more elements in the environment. The symbol shows a dead tree and a fish.
meanings:
- Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Typically in pesticides, biocides, gasoline, turpentine, etc.
Replaced:
Would you like to help raise awareness in your team about the symbols and meanings of COSHH? download theFree download COSHH symbols in PDF formathallo.
from ... toCOSHH assessments are required by law, if you work with hazardous chemicals and perform the required COSHH risk assessments, you should be aware of these symbols. They are included on the packaging of the substances to inform you of the type of hazard they pose. These COSHH symbols give a good indication of the main hazards and risks associated with the substance.
Once you have identified the type of hazardous substance used, you can begin assessing the risks to those using the substance. This will help you choose the security measures needed to mitigate these risks to a safe level.
Not sure where to start? Read9 ways to comply with COSHHor browse ourCOSHH scoring models.
This article was written byEmma, die HASpod🇧🇷 Emma has over 10 years experience in Health & Safety and BSc (Hons) Construction Management. She is NEBOSH and Tech IOSH qualified.