With the amount of household chemicals that could be hazardous to an individual’s health, warning labels are a common site.

Guthrie County Health Services Director Jotham Arber says that many warning labels found on chemicals will have a brightly colored symbol next to it, along with specific symbols like a skull and crossbones for toxic, and flames for flammable chemicals. He tell Raccoon Valley Radio about other ways warnings are made noticeable.

“You’re going to notice there’s different colors, on different triangles that allude to what the chemical is. What we really encourage people to do is when they’re reading the back labels and they’re going through the chemicals and they’re reading the word ‘warning,’ and it says ‘toxic,’ if it says ‘poisonous,’ if it says ‘reactive,’ ‘corrosive,’ make sure that you’re looking those labels up. You can find them on the (Department of Natural Resource’s) DNR’s website. You can find them on the manufacturer’s website. But anything that’s in bold letters that says ‘warning,’ we highly recommend that people adhere to whatever warning that is.”

Arber mentions that most warnings are written out, with information to go with the symbol that individuals see. He adds that these symbols are universal when it comes to identifying safety risks of chemical, and that individuals should always read usage instructions to help keep accidents to a minimum.