GHS Hazard Pictogram
GHS06 — Skull and Crossbones Pictogram
Also called the skull and crossbones symbol. Signal word: Danger.
Acute toxicity (severe)
What does GHS06 mean?
The skull and crossbones pictogram indicates severe acute toxicity via oral (H300/H301), dermal (H310/H311), or inhalation (H330/H331) routes. Categories 1–3 represent the highest acute toxicity levels under GHS/CLP.
Straight answers
What does the skull and crossbones pictogram indicate?
Acute toxicity in the fatal band — categories 1, 2 and 3, by swallowing, skin contact or breathing. 3 CLP hazard classes lead to it, one per route, carrying 6 hazard statements: H300, H301, H310, H311, H330 and H331.
What does the skull and crossbones pictogram identify — and what does it not?
It identifies a substance where a small single dose can kill. It does not identify long-term harm: cancer, organ damage and effects on fertility carry the health hazard pictogram instead, and a chemical can be a proven carcinogen with no skull anywhere on the label.
What is the difference between the skull and the exclamation mark?
One category. Acute toxicity 1 to 3 gets the skull; category 4 — harmful rather than fatal — gets the exclamation mark. The boundary for the oral route sits at an ATE of 300 mg/kg. Article 26(1)(b) then forbids showing both: exactly 1 harmonised entry lists them together.
Which signal word goes with the skull and crossbones?
Always Danger. Every category behind this pictogram carries the same word — there is no Warning-level skull.
How many chemicals carry GHS06?
604 substances with a harmonised classification in CLP Annex VI.
Every number here is computed from CLP Annex VI at build time. See all nine pictograms compared.
Which hazard classes require GHS06?
GHS06 is assigned by 3 hazard classes across 9 categories under CLP and UN GHS. The signal word is set by the category, not by the pictogram — which is why the same pictogram can carry both Danger and Warning. The full wording of every code is listed under Associated H-statements below.
| Hazard class | Ch. | Category | Signal word | H-code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute toxicity - oral | 3.1 | 1 | Danger | H300 |
| Acute toxicity - oral | 3.1 | 2 | Danger | H300 |
| Acute toxicity - oral | 3.1 | 3 | Danger | H301 |
| Acute toxicity - dermal | 3.1 | 1 | Danger | H310 |
| Acute toxicity - dermal | 3.1 | 2 | Danger | H310 |
| Acute toxicity - dermal | 3.1 | 3 | Danger | H311 |
| Acute toxicity - inhalation | 3.1 | 1 | Danger | H330 |
| Acute toxicity - inhalation | 3.1 | 2 | Danger | H330 |
| Acute toxicity - inhalation | 3.1 | 3 | Danger | H331 |
Interactive tool
LD50 / LC50 → acute toxicity category
Pick the exposure route, then enter the LD50 (oral/dermal) or LC50 (inhalation) value.
Associated H-statements (6)
Each code opens its own page: the verbatim CLP wording, its status under EU CLP, OSHA HazCom and UN GHS, and every harmonised substance that carries it. See also the full list of hazard statements and the precautionary statements.
Which pictograms appear next to GHS06
A label rarely carries one diamond. Counted across the 604 harmonised substances that carry GHS06 — before the Article 26 precedence rules remove anything.
GHS09 Environmental Hazard 380 · 62.9%
GHS08 Health Hazard 290 · 48%
GHS05 Corrosion 170 · 28.1%
GHS02 Flame 68 · 11.3%
GHS03 Flame Over Circle 17 · 2.8%
GHS04 Gas Cylinder 17 · 2.8%
GHS01 Exploding Bomb 13 · 2.2%
GHS07 Exclamation Mark 1 · 0.2%
What kills a person usually kills a fish: nearly two thirds of acutely toxic entries also carry the environment pictogram. Disposal is part of the hazard, not an afterthought.
When GHS06 changes what else is shown
Article 26 of CLP cuts the number of diamonds on a label. 2 of its five rules touch GHS06.
If GHS06 applies, GHS07 shall not appear. No exception, no discretion.
Exactly 1 of the 604 harmonised entries carrying the skull lists GHS07 as well — DNOC, index 609-020-00-X. Annex VI prints the classification; Article 26 takes the exclamation mark off the label.
If GHS02 or GHS06 applies, the use of GHS04 becomes optional.
17 entries carry the skull together with the gas cylinder — on those labels the cylinder may be dropped.
Nothing in Article 26 makes GHS06 optional in the other direction unless a rule above says so. All five precedence rules, with the number of substances each one affects.
Storage & handling requirements
Store in locked, well-ventilated area. Access restricted to trained and authorised personnel only. Secondary containment mandatory. Biological and air monitoring may be required. Emergency procedures and antidotes must be available and documented.
Regulatory context (CLP / OSHA / REACH)
CLP Acute Toxicity Cat. 1–3. Suppresses GHS07 on labels per CLP Article 26. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 requires full hazcom programme. EU occupational exposure limits (OELs) under Directive 2017/164/EU may apply.
Transport marking: GHS vs ADR/DOT
ADR Class 6.1 — Toxic substances. White diamond with skull and crossbones. Packing group I (very toxic), II (toxic), or III (harmful). Closed cargo transport vehicles required for PG I liquids.
Printing GHS06 on a label
A square set at a point — a diamond — with the black symbol on a white background and a red frame wide enough to be clearly visible. An all-black frame is a transport label, not a CLP pictogram. Size is set twice over: each pictogram must cover at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area required by Article 17, and must never be smaller than 1 cm². On a package of 3 litres or less that works out to 10 × 10 mm as the floor, and 16 × 16 mm where it fits.
Source: Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Annex I, 1.2.1.1–1.2.1.4 and Table 1.3 — the full table for all four package sizes. Building an actual label? The label constructor lays it out at the right proportions.
GHS06 — Skull and Crossbones
High-resolution SVG vector file. Free for use in safety documents, SDS, and label design.
Substances classified with GHS06
Showing 24 of 604 substances in our database with this pictogram. View all →
- 3-(3-amino-5-(1-methylguanidino)-1-oxopentylamino-6-(4… CAS 2079-00-7Danger Details →Label
- perboric acid, sodium salt [1] perboric acid, sodium… CAS 11138-47-9Danger No single CASLabel
- nitrogen dioxide [1] dinitrogen tetraoxide [2] CAS 10102-44-0Danger No single CASLabel
- alkali fluorosilicates(Na) [1] alkali… CAS 16893-85-9Danger No single CASLabel
- 1,3-dichloropropene [1] (Z)-1,3-dichloropropene [2] CAS 542-75-6Danger No single CASLabel
- 2,2,4-trimethylhexamethylene-1,6-di-isocyanate [1]… CAS 16938-22-0Danger No single CASLabel
- cadmium (non-pyrophoric) [1] cadmium oxide… CAS 7440-43-9Danger No single CASLabel
- dimethylmercury [1] diethylmercury [2] CAS 593-74-8Danger No single CASLabel
- phenylmercury nitrate [1] phenylmercury hydroxide [2]… CAS 55-68-5Danger No single CASLabel
- sodium pentachlorophenolate [1] potassium… CAS 131-52-2Danger No single CASLabel
- m-cresol [1] o-cresol [2] p-cresol [3] mix-cresol [4] CAS 108-39-4Danger No single CASLabel
- 3,4-xylenol [1] 2,5-xylenol [2] 2,4-xylenol [3]… CAS 95-65-8Danger No single CASLabel
- 1-isopropyl-4-methylbenzene CAS 99-87-6Danger Details →Label
- bromomethane CAS 74-83-9Danger Details →Label
- Bromoform CAS 75-25-2Danger Details →Label
- 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane CAS 79-34-5Danger Details →Label
- 1,1,2,2-Tetrabromoethane CAS 79-27-6Danger Details →Label
- abamectin (combination of avermectin B1a and… CAS 71751-41-2Danger No single CASLabel
- 2-hydroxy-1-methylethylacrylate [1]… CAS 2918-23-2Danger No single CASLabel
- dinitrobenzene [1] 1,4-dinitrobenzene [2]… CAS 25154-54-5Danger No single CASLabel
- 2,4-dinitrotoluene [1] dinitrotoluene [2] CAS 121-14-2Danger No single CASLabel
- dinitrophenol (reaction mass of isomers) [1] 2,4(or… CAS 25550-58-7Danger No single CASLabel
- 2,3-dinitrophenol [1] 2,5-dinitrophenol [2]… CAS 66-56-8Danger No single CASLabel
- o-nitroaniline [1] m-nitroaniline [2] p-nitroaniline… CAS 88-74-4Danger No single CASLabel
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