Every chemical must be labeled with a proper Chemical Safety Signs as they possess inherent hazardous properties of toxication or explosion. Throughout life, every person comes in contact with various Chemicals everywhere.

Safety Signs are: “Information or instructions about health and safety on labels or on signboards with a specific color, an illuminated sign or acoustic signal.”

The Health and Safety Signs & Signals Regulations

• Companies must provide and cater safety signs to employees where there is considerable risk to health and safety.
•  Signs are self-descriptive, illuminated, and deliver safety messages at a glimpse.
•  Specific colors, shapes, and symbols can appropriately convey information and alerts.
•  Safety signs are independent of languages. Mostly universal graphical images are used.

CHEMICAL SAFETY SIGNS

There are two types of Chemical Safety Signs

1. Signs for Hazard  Communication
2. Informative Signs for Safety Instructions.

COMMON CHEMICAL SAFETY SIGNS AND THEIR PURPOSES

FLAME SIGNS:

1) Sign One:

Property – Flammable Chemical

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Flame signals are slightly different according to the intensity of hazard.

2) Sign Two: 

Property – Flammable Gases

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Able to ignite a combust

3) Sign Three: 

Property – Flammable Liquid

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Can explode on reaction with some other chemicals.

4) Sign Four: 

Property – Chemicals Reactive to Water

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Emits toxic gases on reaction with water. 

5) Sign Five: 

Property – Self-reactive, Explosive, Flammable Solid

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Liabto ignite fire or explosion to 

6) Sign Six: 

Property – Oxidizers, Pyrophoric in Nature

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Immediately ignite spontaneously on contact with air.

7) Sign Seven: 

Property – Organic Peroxides

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Highly reactive chemicals. They can trigger fire or explosion on reaction with other Chemicals or even on friction.

8) Sign Eight: 

Property – Highly Hazardous Chemicals

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Liable to impulsive combustion. Burn or explode even on a little change in certain conditions of temperature and pressure.

EXPLOSIVE CHEMICALS: 

1) Cylinder:

Property – The cylinder is filled with compressed, liquified, or dissolved gas under pressure. Generally, the pressure is more than 28 pounds per sq. inch.

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Slight change in pressure can liable to explosion

2) Skull and Crossbones:

Property – Acute Toxic Chemical

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Exposure or Swallowing of a small amount of such chemical is lethal.

Property – Toxic Chemical 

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Inhalation of fumes of this chemical causes death. 

3) Exclamation Mark

Property – Self-reactive Chemical

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Able to trigger catastrophic fire or explosion on a slight increase in temperature or pressure.

4) Corrosion: 

Property – Chemical oxidize metals and corrode them

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Cause damage to containers. There may leakage of chemicals responsible for skin burn and other hazards on contact.

5) Exploding Bomb: 

Property – Self-reactive Chemical

Potential Hazard/ Warning – able to trigger catastrophic fire or explosion on a slight increase in temperature or pressure.

6) Irritant: 

Property – Health Hazardous.

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Cause irritation to skin and eyes, damage to organs, and narcotics effects on exposure.

7) Radioactive: 

Property – Clearly indicates that the chemical emits radiation.

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Radioactive radiation is carcinogenic and mutagenic for living organisms. 

8) Miscellaneous Hazardous

Property – Uncertain Hazardous chemical

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Uncertain Hazardous Chemicals 

ACUTE HEALTH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS

1) Health Hazardous

Property – Severe Health Hazardous Chemicals

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Exposure to them is with the potential of acute hazards such as germ cell mutation, organ toxicity, carcinogenicity, and respiratory disorder.

2) Environment Hazardous

Property – Harmful to Ecological System

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Leakage of the chemical toxicate the aquatic bodies, air, and soil.

3) Bio Hazardous

Property – Spread Infections

Potential Hazard/ Warning – Spread infectious diseases in living organisms on exposure or on contact. 

Besides these Chemical Safety Signs, the following mandatory signs are for individual safe practice.

Every employer should install Chemical Safety Signs and labels at appropriate places and on containers. They should be proper combinations of shape, color, Symbol, or pictogram and with supportive text, if required. Signs must be easily perceptible by sufficient lighting. Ensure that every person using or handling the chemicals should aware of indications of signs.

Safety Signs play a vital role in sustaining a safe environment at work Places.

Respect them, Apply them!

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