A GHS label tells a worker what the chemical is, what hazards it presents, how severe those hazards are, and what precautions to take. Under the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, a shipped container label uses six elements: a product identifier, signal word, hazard statements, pictograms, precautionary statements, and supplier information. Read those parts in the same order every time and a crowded label becomes much easier to use.
Quick answer: Hazard statements are standardized descriptions of a chemical’s hazards. They are often identified by H-codes, such as H225 for “Highly flammable liquid and vapour.” The code is a reference tool; for U.S. workplace labels, OSHA requires the applicable hazard statement text, not the H-code itself.
Table of contents
- What are the six required elements of a GHS label?
- What are the nine GHS pictograms?
- What is the difference between Danger and Warning?
- What are hazard statements and H-codes?
- What are precautionary statements and P-codes?
- What is a product identifier?
- Who must be listed as the supplier?
- How does Helios Comply help?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What are the six required elements of a GHS label?
29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(1) requires six elements on labels for hazardous chemicals leaving a workplace. The label information follows from the manufacturer’s or importer’s hazard classification and should agree with Section 2 of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- Product identifier: Tells you which chemical or product the label covers.
- Signal word: Gives a fast indication of relative severity.
- Hazard statements: Describe the nature and, when appropriate, degree of each classified hazard.
- Pictograms: Show hazard types through standardized symbols.
- Precautionary statements: State measures for safer handling, response, storage, and disposal.
- Supplier information: Identifies the manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
These shipped-label rules are not identical to workplace secondary-container rules. Under 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6), an employer may reproduce the shipped-label elements or use a workplace system that identifies the product and provides general hazard information, together with information immediately available to employees. See what a compliant secondary container label must include before relabeling spray bottles, buckets, or process containers.
OSHA’s 2024 final rule primarily aligned HazCom with GHS Revision 7 and added selected Revision 8 provisions. The rule took effect July 19, 2024. OSHA’s transition schedule set January 19, 2026 for substance labels and SDSs, July 20, 2026 for related employer updates, July 19, 2027 for mixture labels and SDSs, and January 19, 2028 for related employer updates.
What are the nine GHS pictograms and what do they mean?
GHS has nine pictograms. OSHA enforces eight under HazCom; the environment pictogram is not mandatory under federal OSHA, although it may appear as supplementary information. Each pictogram uses a black symbol on white inside a red frame set at a point. OSHA also states that an empty red diamond is not a pictogram and is not permitted.
|
Name |
Symbol description |
Hazards commonly covered |
Workplace example |
Required by OSHA? |
|
Health hazard |
Person with a starburst in the chest |
Carcinogenicity, respiratory sensitization, reproductive toxicity, target-organ toxicity, mutagenicity, aspiration hazard |
Some solvent-based degreasers |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Flame |
Flame |
Flammables, pyrophorics, self-heating chemicals, self-reactives, organic peroxides |
Gasoline |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Exclamation mark |
Exclamation point |
Irritation, skin sensitization, harmful acute toxicity, narcotic effects, respiratory irritation |
Some aerosol cleaners |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Gas cylinder |
Horizontal cylinder |
Gases under pressure |
Compressed nitrogen |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Corrosion |
Liquid damaging a hand and metal |
Skin corrosion, serious eye damage, corrosive to metals |
Strong drain cleaner |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Exploding bomb |
Exploding object |
Explosives, certain self-reactives, certain organic peroxides |
A classified organic peroxide hardener |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Flame over circle |
Flame above a circle |
Oxidizers |
Concentrated oxidizing sanitizer |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Skull and crossbones |
Skull above crossed bones |
Severe acute toxicity |
A highly toxic pesticide concentrate |
Yes, when allocated |
|
Environment |
Dead tree and fish |
Aquatic toxicity |
A pesticide harmful to aquatic life |
No, optional in the U.S. |
A label may carry several pictograms because one product can have several classified hazards. This matters for cleaning crews handling diluted chemicals, where one concentrate may be corrosive, harmful if inhaled, and hazardous under another class. The pictograms identify hazard type, but they do not replace the written statements.
What is the difference between the signal words Danger and Warning?
Danger identifies the more severe hazard categories. Warning identifies less severe categories. Only one signal word appears: if any classification calls for Danger, Warning is omitted. Some classifications require no signal word.
Danger and Warning are the only two signal words, and only the most severe one appears on a label. That makes the signal word a fast severity check, not a complete hazard explanation. Read it with the pictograms and hazard statements to learn what can happen.
What are hazard statements and H-codes?
Hazard statements are prescribed phrases that describe the nature and, when appropriate, degree of a hazard. The UN GHS assigns each phrase an H-code. H2xx codes cover physical hazards, H3xx codes cover health hazards, and H4xx codes cover environmental hazards. OSHA requires all applicable statement text under Appendix C, subject to the combining and omission provisions in that appendix.
|
Range |
What it covers |
Representative example |
|
H2xx |
Physical hazards |
H225: Highly flammable liquid and vapour |
|
H3xx |
Health hazards |
H314: Causes severe skin burns and eye damage |
|
H3xx |
Health hazards |
H351: Suspected of causing cancer |
|
H4xx |
Environmental hazards |
H400: Very toxic to aquatic life |
Combined codes such as H315+H319 group statements that apply together. Do not rewrite a statement from memory. Compare the label against SDS Section 2, where OSHA’s required SDS format places the classification and label elements. Our view is simple: if the label and SDS disagree, stop using the improvised label and correct it from the source document.
What are precautionary statements and P-codes?
Precautionary statements describe recommended measures to limit harmful exposure or improper handling. The UN GHS uses P-codes, while OSHA Appendix C organizes required label text into prevention, response, storage, and disposal. As with H-codes, the U.S. requirement centers on the applicable statement text, not printing the code.
|
Code group |
Purpose |
Example |
|
P1xx |
General GHS advice |
P102: Keep out of reach of children |
|
P2xx |
Prevention |
P280: Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection |
|
P3xx |
Response |
P305+P351+P338: Rinse eyes cautiously and remove contact lenses if easy to do |
|
P4xx |
Storage |
P403+P233: Store in a well-ventilated place and keep container tightly closed |
|
P5xx |
Disposal |
P501: Dispose of contents/container as specified |
A supervisor should connect these statements to the task. If P280 calls for protective equipment, training and work instructions should identify what workers actually wear. A label is concise by design. The SDS and workplace procedures carry the detail.
What is a product identifier on a GHS label?
The product identifier is the name or number used for the hazardous chemical. Under Appendix C.1, it must be the identifier used on the SDS. It may be a product name, chemical name, code, or batch number, but it must let a worker retrieve the correct SDS.
A spray bottle marked only “cleaner” does not reliably connect a worker to one SDS when the business stocks several cleaners. Mismatched names create the same problem. This is why generating GHS labels from your SDS library is safer than typing identifiers and statements from memory.
Who must be listed as the supplier on a GHS label?
A shipped container label must list the name, address, and telephone number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party under 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(1)(vi). Workers and safety managers can use that information to request an SDS or ask for hazard information.
The supplier block is part of the shipped-label requirement, not the minimum alternative workplace-label option in paragraph (f)(6). If an SDS is missing, start with the responsible party shown on the original container. A clear system for organizing a safety data sheet binder also helps businesses keep physical copies usable.
How does Helios Comply help keep labels tied to the SDS?
Helios Comply provides cloud SDS management and GHS secondary-container label generation from the SDS library. That reduces retyping when a supervisor needs labels for spray bottles, jugs, or other workplace containers. QR-code and offline SDS access can also give employees a path to the full document when the label does not answer a task-specific question.
Software has a limit. It does not remove the employer’s responsibility to maintain a written HazCom program, inventory hazardous chemicals, train employees, keep labels legible, and provide SDS access during each shift. It does make the source information easier to organize and reuse consistently.
Start a free Helios Comply trial to organize your SDS library and generate secondary-container labels. For hands-on setup help, call (855) 920-5202.
Frequently asked questions
Are H-codes required on OSHA labels?
OSHA requires the applicable hazard statement text. H-codes are useful standardized identifiers from the UN GHS, but 29 CFR 1910.1200 does not require the code itself to be printed beside the statement.
Why can one chemical have several pictograms?
A chemical may meet the criteria for several hazard classes. Its label can therefore show several pictograms, each pointing to a different physical or health hazard.
Can Danger and Warning appear together?
No. Appendix C uses one signal word. If any classified hazard requires Danger, the label omits Warning.
Is the environment pictogram required in the United States?
No. OSHA does not enforce the environment pictogram under federal HazCom, but a supplier may include it as supplementary information. That is why it can appear on imported or U.S. labels.
Do secondary containers need all six shipped-label elements?
Not always. OSHA permits the shipped-label information or an alternative workplace label that identifies the product and communicates its hazards with information immediately available to employees. The portable-container exception in 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(8) is narrow and applies to the employee who transfers the chemical for immediate use.
Where should I check a hazard statement?
Check Section 2 of the SDS. It contains the hazard classification and label elements under OSHA’s required SDS format. The product identifier should also match Section 1.
Can I print a GHS pictogram in black and white?
Not for the OSHA pictogram on a shipped hazardous-chemical label. Appendix C.2.3.1 calls for a black symbol, white background, and red frame sufficiently wide to be clearly visible.
Sources
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 29 CFR 1910.1200 and Appendices C and D
- OSHA Brief 3636, Hazard Communication Standard: Labels and Pictograms
- OSHA, Hazard Communication Pictograms
- OSHA Fact Sheet 4437, Final Rule Modifying the HCS to Maintain Alignment with the GHS
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, GHS Revision 10