The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) unveiled their new (and somewhat scary) symbol to alert the public of the dangers of radiation on Feb. 15th.

According to the IAEA and ISO

"The new symbol is aimed at alerting anyone, anywhere to the potential dangers of being close to a large source of ionizing radiation"

And

"The symbol is intended for IAEA Category 1, 2 and 3 sources defined as dangerous sources capable of death or serious injury, including food irradiators, teletherapy machines for cancer treatment and industrial radiography units. The symbol is to be placed on the device housing the source, as a warning not to dismantle the device or to get any closer. It will not be visible under normal use, only if someone attempts to disassemble the device. The symbol will not be located on building access doors, transportation packages or containers."

I guess the world needs a symbol to warn about these types of radiation risks, but don’t you think you’d know those risks if you’re trying to dismantle the device? I'm still partial to the old yellow and black fan of death.