Exploding Bomb

Hazard Classes That Carry the Exploding Bomb

GHS01 is assigned to three hazard classes in the UN GHS (the Purple Book): explosives, self-reactive substances and mixtures, and organic peroxides. For explosives, it appears on unstable explosives and on Divisions 1.1 through 1.4 — materials with a mass explosion hazard, a projection hazard, a fire hazard with minor blast or projection effects, or a hazard confined largely to the package. Divisions 1.5 and 1.6 are still classified as explosives but do not carry the pictogram on the supply label.

For self-reactive substances and organic peroxides, GHS01 marks the most energetic types. Type A materials, which can detonate or deflagrate rapidly as packaged, carry the exploding bomb alone; Type B materials carry both GHS01 and the GHS02 flame, reflecting a combined thermal-explosion and fire hazard. Types C through F drop the bomb and use the flame only, so the presence of GHS01 on a peroxide drum signals a genuinely detonable material, not just a fire risk.

Signal Words and H-Statements

Almost every GHS01 assignment pairs with the signal word Danger. Unstable explosives carry H200 (unstable explosive), Division 1.1 carries H201 (explosive; mass explosion hazard), 1.2 carries H202 (severe projection hazard), and 1.3 carries H203 (fire, blast or projection hazard). The one exception is Division 1.4, which keeps the exploding bomb but downgrades to the signal word Warning with H204 (fire or projection hazard).

Type A self-reactive substances and organic peroxides carry H240 (heating may cause an explosion), while Type B carries H241 (heating may cause a fire or explosion). These statements matter operationally: an H240 material demands strict temperature control, often with a defined self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) on the safety data sheet, and contamination or confinement can turn a storage problem into a detonation. Reading the H-statement alongside the pictogram tells you which failure mode the classifier expects.

GHS01 Under OSHA HazCom and EU CLP

In the United States, OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) adopts the GHS explosive, self-reactive, and organic peroxide classes, and its 2024 update aligned the rule primarily with GHS Revision 7. Shipped-container labels for these materials must show the red-framed exploding bomb together with the signal word, hazard statements, and precautionary statements. Manufacturers of commercial explosives should also note that many downstream storage and transport requirements sit with ATF and DOT, outside HazCom itself.

In the EU, the CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 assigns GHS01 through its Annex I classification tables and defines the pictogram artwork in Annex V. CLP retains the division-based explosives scheme even though recent GHS revisions restructured the explosives chapter into new categories, so European labels continue to reflect Divisions 1.1 to 1.4. CLP also sets minimum pictogram size: at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area and never smaller than one square centimetre.

How GHS01 Relates to Transport Labels and Other Symbols

The exploding bomb has a close transport counterpart: the orange Class 1 diamond used under the UN Model Regulations and, in the US, DOT's hazmat rules. GHS allows the supply pictogram to be omitted from outer packaging when the transport label for the same hazard is already present, and for Division 1.4 goods in transport packagings the 1.4 transport label commonly stands in for GHS01. Inside the workplace, once the material is decanted or the transport packaging is opened, the GHS label applies.

Do not confuse GHS01 with GHS02: the flame covers materials that ignite and burn, while the bomb covers materials that can detonate or deflagrate with blast and projection effects. A drum showing both pictograms is a Type B self-reactive substance or organic peroxide. The ISO 7010 W002 warning sign (explosive material) serves a different purpose entirely — it marks areas and installations, whereas GHS01 belongs on the chemical container and its safety data sheet.

Reading the exploding bomb pictogram

The exploding bomb appears for specified explosive, self-reactive, and organic peroxide classifications. The applicable category determines its use; the picture alone is not an instruction for handling, transport, or storage.

What to check alongside it

Compare it with the flame pictogram: some self-reactive substances and organic peroxides use the flame, and some classifications use both. Read the hazard statements rather than selecting a pictogram from the material name.