Under the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), which pictogram indicates acute toxicity?
Correct Answer
A) Skull and crossbones
The skull and crossbones pictogram specifically indicates acute toxicity under the GHS system. The exclamation mark indicates less severe health hazards, while the health hazard pictogram indicates serious health effects like carcinogenicity.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The skull and crossbones (GHS06) is the universally recognized symbol for acute toxicity under the Globally Harmonized System. It appears on labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for substances that can cause death or severe harm after a single or brief exposure — for example, certain pesticides, solvents, and industrial chemicals. OSHA adopted GHS through its 2012 revision of the Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom 2012).
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: Health hazard (human silhouette)
The health hazard pictogram (GHS08), showing a human silhouette with a starburst, represents serious but longer-term health effects such as carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, respiratory sensitization, and aspiration hazard. It does NOT indicate acute (immediate) toxicity.
Option C: Exclamation mark
The exclamation mark (GHS07) indicates hazards of moderate severity: skin and eye irritation, skin sensitization, or mild respiratory irritation. It is used when a chemical poses a concern but does not rise to the level of acute toxicity requiring the skull and crossbones.
Option D: Corrosion (test tubes and hand)
The corrosion pictogram (GHS05), showing test tubes dripping onto a surface and a hand, represents substances that corrode metals or cause severe skin burns and eye damage. It relates to physical destruction of materials and tissue, not systemic toxicity from internal exposure.
Memory Technique
Classic poison symbol = acute poison. The skull and crossbones has meant 'deadly if you touch or swallow this' since the age of pirates. No other GHS symbol carries that immediate 'fatal dose' warning. If a question says 'acute toxicity,' visualize a pirate flag.
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