Pictograms are graphic images that immediately show you what type of hazard a hazardous product presents.

Manufacturers and suppliers classify the products into one or more of the hazard classes and assign one or more of the appropriate pictograms. Pictograms will be on the product supplier labels of the hazardous products as well as on the SDSs.

Workers must recognize the ten hazard pictograms and know what they mean. Most pictograms have a distinctive red border in the shape of a square set on one of its corners. Inside this border is a symbol that represents the potential hazard (e.g., fire hazard, health hazard, corrosive, etc.). With a quick glance, a worker can see, for example, that the product is flammable or if it might be a health hazard.

Hazard Classes, Categories and Pictograms

Table 1 shows each hazard pictogram, its name, hazard description, and the associated hazard classes and categories.

Table 1. Hazard symbols

Name/Description	Pictogram	Classes and categories
Flame (for fire hazards)		Flammable gases (Category 1) Flammable aerosols (Category 1 and 2) Flammable liquids (Category 1, 2, and 3) Flammable solids (Category 1 and 2) Pyrophoric liquids (Category 1) Pyrophoric solids (Category 1) Pyrophoric gases (Category 1) Self-heating substances and mixtures (Category 1 and 2) Substances and mixtures which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases (Category 1, 2, and 3) Self-reactive substances and mixtures (Types B*, C, D, E, and F) Organic peroxides (Types B*, C, D, E, and F)
Flame over circle (for oxidizing hazards)		Oxidizing gases (Category 1) Oxidizing liquids (Category 1, 2, and 3) Oxidizing solids (Category 1, 2, and 3)
Exploding bomb (for explosion or reactivity hazards)		Self-reactive substances and mixtures (Types A and B*) Organic peroxides (Types A and B*)
Corrosion (for corrosive damage to metals, as well as skin, eyes)		Corrosive to metals (Category 1) Skin corrosion/irritation —Skin corrosion (Category 1, 1A, 1B, and 1C) Serious eye damage/eye irritation—Serious eye damage ( Category 1)
Gas cylinder (for gases under pressure)		Gases under pressure (compressed gas, liquefied gas, refrigerated liquefied gas, and dissolved gas)
Skull and crossbones (can cause death or toxicity with short exposure to small amounts)		Acute toxicity Oral (Category 1, 2 and 3) Dermal (Category 1, 2, and 3) Inhalation (Category 1, 2, and 3)
Exclamation mark (may cause less serious health effects or damage the ozone layer)		Acute toxicity—Oral, dermal, inhalation (Category 4) Skin corrosion/irritation—Skin irritation (Category 2) Serious eye damage/eye irritation—Eye irritation (Category 2 and 2A) Respiratory or skin sensitization—Skin sensitizer (Category 1, 1A and 1B) Specific target organ toxicity—Single exposure (Category 3)
Health hazard (may cause or suspected of causing serious health effects)		Respiratory or skin sensitization—Respiratory sensitizer (Category 1, 1A, and 1B) Germ cell mutagenicity (Category 1, 1A, 1B, and 2) Carcinogenicity (Category 1, 1A, 1B, and 2) Reproductive toxicity (Category 1, 1A, 1B, and 2) Specific target organ toxicity—Single exposure (Category 1 and 2) Specific target organ toxicity—Repeated exposure (Category 1 and 2) Aspiration hazard (Category 1)
Biohazardous infectious materials (for organisms or toxins that can cause diseases in people or animals)		Biohazardous infectious materials (Category 1)

Note: *Both the flame and explosive pictograms are used for self-reactive substances and mixtures (Type B) and organic peroxides (Type B). 

An environmental hazards group exists in the GHS for products that may cause damage to the aquatic environment. This group (and its classes) were not adopted in WHMIS 2015. However, you may see the environmental pictogram (Figure 1) listed on labels and SDSs.

Hazard Classes and Categories Without Pictograms

There are hazardous products that meet the criteria for a hazard class or category but whose classes and categories do not require a pictogram. The product label and Section 2 (Hazards Identification) of the SDS still require the signal word, hazard statement(s), and other required label elements.

WHMIS 2015 classes and categories that do not require a pictogram are:

• Flammable gases—Category 2
• Flammable liquids—Category 4
• Self-reactive substances and mixtures—Type G
• Organic peroxides—Type G
• Combustible dusts—Category 1
• Simple asphyxiants—Category 1
• Serious eye damage/eye irritation—Eye irritation—Category 2B
• Reproductive toxicity—Effects on or via lactation

Self-Test A-3.5: Identify Pictograms Found on WHMIS Labels

Complete Self-Test A-3.5 and check your answers.

References

BC Industry Training Authority. (2019). Piping trades apprenticeship program: Perform safety related functions—Level 1 harmonized [Binder]. Crown Publications, Queen’s Printer for British Columbia. https://www.crownpub.bc.ca/Product/Details/7960000260_S

Camosun College. (2015). Line A: Safe Work Practices — Competency A-3: Handle Hazardous Materials Safely (BCcampus). https://collection.bccampus.ca/textbook/PMfB6kHM/

Camosun College. (2015). Trades Access Common Core Competency A-3: Handle Hazardous Materials Safely. Victoria, B.C.: Crown Publications. Download for free from the B.C. Open Textbook Collection (https://open.bccampus.ca/browse-ourcollection/find-open-textbooks/).

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). (2024). WHMIS pictograms. Free, downloadable WHMIS pictograms as regulated by the Hazardous Products Regulations. Retrieved from https://www.ccohs.ca/WHMISpictograms.html

Media Attributions

All figures are sourced from Industry Training Authority (2019) and/or Camosun College (2019) and are used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence unless otherwise noted. Images copyrighted by the BC Industry Training Authority are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

• WHMIS pictograms, pictogram poster and WHMIS labels posters downloaded from the CCOHS (2024) WHMIS Pictograms Kit (downloads) page are used with permission and under the CCOHS terms for educational purposes.