[1] During a study in the early 2000s, it was found that only 6% of those surveyed in India, Brazil and Kenya could correctly identify the meaning of the trefoil symbol.

The objective was to create a single symbol, that would be understood worldwide by someone at any age, with nearly any level of education, or not knowing about radiation, as "Danger—Run Away—Do Not Touch!".

This enabled personnel to narrow the designs to those that gave off an intuitive message of "danger" or "bad".

Initial interpretations of the symbols were that something bad could happen and caution was needed—but the source of that threat wasn't understood.

[4] The combined icons created a symbol that virtually uniformly conveyed a message of "Danger—Run Away—Do Not Touch!".

[1] The use of three separate pictograms, contained within a larger triangular symbol was chosen for its success in inducing the desired response from viewers.

[1] The intended usage of the supplementary radiation warning symbol, is to warn and discourage anyone attempting to dismantle a piece of equipment containing either a IAEA Category 1, 2 or 3 sealed radiation source, which is any sealed source that can cause serious injuries or death if a person is exposed to it.

The smallest the symbol should be produced is 3.0 centimetres (1.2 in), which makes its placement on most sources difficult due to their small size.