The diamond hazard symbol

When you see a lorry or a parcel with a coloured diamond on the side, that diamond is the hazard label. A picture on top (a flame, a skull, a fish, a bomb) shows the type of danger. A number in the bottom corner shows the hazard class. The shape is the same all over the world — diamond on its point — so anyone, in any language, can recognise it instantly.

The hazard label is a diamond on its point.

Here are some common ones. A flame on red = flammable (Class 3, like petrol). A flame on red-and-white stripes = flammable solid (Class 4.1, like matches). A circle with flame on yellow = oxidiser (Class 5.1, helps things burn). A skull-and-crossbones on white = toxic (Class 6). A test tube dripping on a hand on white-and-black = corrosive (Class 8, like bleach concentrate or strong acids). You don't have to memorise them today — just know each diamond means a specific kind of danger.

Flame on red = flammable liquid (Class 3).

Sometimes you'll see a black diamond showing a dead fish and a dead tree. This is the environmentally hazardous / marine pollutant mark — meaning the substance is bad for water and wildlife. Keep spills out of drains and rivers. Lots of products carry this in ADDITION to their main hazard diamond.

Dead fish + dead tree = environmentally hazardous.

On a small parcel the diamond is small — that's the 'label'. On the side of a lorry or a tanker the same diamond is BIG (about 25 cm) — that's the 'placard'. Same symbol, just bigger so it's visible from outside. There's also a plain orange rectangle (no symbol) front and back of vehicles carrying dangerous goods — sometimes with extra numbers for tankers (UN number + a hazard ID). You'll cover orange plates in detail later.

Label = small diamond on a package.