The old symbol alerting us to the presence of radiation was too tame. It doesn’t tell you what to do. It doesn’t tell you how to act. At the very least, considering the era, you might expect to see a desk to hide under.

The old, gold trefoil is not being phased out. It is just being supplemented by a new symbol that the International Atomic Energy Agency — and their 1650 people polled in eleven countries over a five-year project — find the new symbol intuitive. All of the people polled understood the meaning, “Danger — Stay Away.” Technically, it probably says:

1. See the radiation.
2. It is killing you.
3. Run like a girl.
4. In the time it took you to read this storyboard, you have died.

It looks more to me like it says, “Run, Run, Run like hell.”

The new symbol “will not be visible under normal use, only if someone attempts to disassemble” devices housing large sources of ionizing radiation. You are not likely to see this symbol in use.  If you see this symbol, freak out immediately.