You couldn't call it subtle. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is adding a skull and crossbones and the figure of a person running away to its warning symbol for dangerous ionising radiation.
"Too many people get injured each year when they find a large source of radiation, don't understand the symbol and take off the lead shielding," says Carolyn MacKenzie of the IAEA. In recent incidents, people have died trying to salvage cobalt sources from dumped medical equipment.
When the IAEA tested the original radiating "trefoil" symbol at an international school, it found that many children mistook the trefoil for a non-threatening propeller. So on 15 February it launched the new design, adding alarming images to the trefoil.
The IAEA tested it in 11 countries. "It means stop, run away," says MacKenzie. "Most people got the message."
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