History and Development of the Radiation Warning Symbol

The origins of the magenta and yellow tri-foil design of the radiation warning symbol are somewhat hidden in the mists of time. No single person or institution can lay claim to this symbol that is an everyday sight at Hanford.

Early radiation protection efforts began about a year after the discovery of x-rays by Roentgen in 1895. These invisible rays that can pass through solid material were received with great interest by scientists and the general public. Physicists and laymen set up x-ray generating equipment with no concern for potential dangers.

No previous experience indicated that x-rays would be hazardous. Since symptoms did not immediately follow exposure, the widespread use of x-rays led to injury.

Nevertheless, from about 1925 to 1945, radiation protection developed as the science of health physics. The name came from the Manhattan Project, and may have come partly from the need for secrecy, as well as the fact that physicists were actually working on radiation safety.

It was during the Manhattan Project that many of the modern concepts and advances in radiation safety came to maturity. The Hanford Engineer Works (now Hanford Site) played a major role in this area.

Early shipping labels on packages of radioactive material bore the skull and crossbones with the word Radioactive. These labels had been standardized by the Bureau of Explosives, Interstate Commerce Commission and the Civil Aeronautics Board. Later, the skull and crossbones were changed to a cloud with lightning in an effort to reflect the different hazard potential of radioactive materials, such as gamma radiation.

One story has the radiation symbol developing from an electrical warning signal, with three lightning bolts emanating from a red dot.

Yet another version comes from work at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab during 1946. They wanted to standardize on something to indicate radiation hazards. Many in the Health Chemistry Group helped sketch out various symbols. Some of these were not unlike the tri-foil arrangement used today.

A radiation warning symbol, something like the current design, may have its roots in the isotope program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The first shipment using this symbol was made in August, 1946. About 1947, the tri-foil design (with purple on a pale blue background) came to Oak Ridge, perhaps from Berkeley.

During the late 1940s, various individuals and organizations were interested in the idea of a standardized symbol for radiation warning. These included the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the U.S. Public Health Service, and the National Bureau of Standards. A number of meetings were held to consider adopting a uniform symbol.

The tri-foil design using magenta on a yellow background was approved by the American Standards Association (now the American National Standards Institute, ANSI), in September, 1953. In 1954, the AEC developed a draft of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20 (10CFR20). This was adopted in final form in 1957, describing the symbol as used today.

The rest of the story of a 20th century danger sign is well known, especially by those who have ever worked at the Hanford Site. The symbol is all over the earth, on the moon, and even in outer space.

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