GHS skull and crossbones pictogram

A black skull and crossbones in a red-bordered diamond, the GHS symbol for acute toxicity.

Also known as: Acute toxicity pictogram, GHS06

Safety & hazardScientificMedicalStandard profile

Meanings

One of nine official GHS pictograms, warning that a substance or mixture is acutely toxic and can cause death or serious harm at low exposure.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Warns that a substance or mixture is acutely toxic and can cause death or serious poisoning even from a single, low-level exposure.
Culturally establishedDocumented interpretation
The skull-and-crossbones motif itself long predates GHS as a general, informal symbol of danger, poison or death, used on poison bottles and pirate flags for centuries before its specific adoption into the GHS standard in 2003.
This entry covers the specific, official GHS pictogram; the much older and broader informal use of skull-and-crossbones imagery as a general danger symbol is a related but distinct tradition, not itself GHS-governed.
Contexts: History

Visual description

A black silhouette of a human skull above two crossed long bones, inside a diamond outlined in red.

Symmetry: vertical
Orientation: upright
Colours: black, red, white

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Official meaningHigh confidence: High confidence because the official meaning is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.

Sources

GHS pictograms
UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) · retrieved 2026-07-27
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-27

Last reviewed 2026-07-27

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Meanings

One of nine official GHS pictograms, warning that a substance or mixture is acutely toxic and can cause death or serious harm at low exposure.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Warns that a substance or mixture is acutely toxic and can cause death or serious poisoning even from a single, low-level exposure.

Culturally establishedDocumented interpretation

The skull-and-crossbones motif itself long predates GHS as a general, informal symbol of danger, poison or death, used on poison bottles and pirate flags for centuries before its specific adoption into the GHS standard in 2003.

This entry covers the specific, official GHS pictogram; the much older and broader informal use of skull-and-crossbones imagery as a general danger symbol is a related but distinct tradition, not itself GHS-governed.

Contexts: History

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Official meaningHigh confidence: High confidence because the official meaning is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.