UN numbers are assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.
These recommendations are adopted by the regulatory organization responsible for the different modes of transport.
UN numbers or UN IDs are four-digit numbers that identify hazardous substances, and articles (such as explosives, flammable liquids, toxic substances, etc.) in the framework of international transport.
- Some hazardous substances have their own UN numbers (e.g. acrylamide has UN2074), while sometimes groups of chemicals or products with similar properties receive a common UN number (e.g. flammable liquid, not otherwise specified, have UN1993). A chemical in its solid state may receive a different UN number than the liquid phase if their hazardous properties differ significantly; substances with different levels of purity (or concentration in solution) may also receive different UN numbers.
- Canadians use the name gasoline with a UN number UN 1203 but this product may be used by a different name in another country, but the UN number is still UN 1203. This is to help eliminate any confusion.
- Column 1 in Schedule 1a and 1b, gives the UN numbers for the shipping names of dangerous goods. An alphabetic index of the shipping names is provided in Schedule 3.
Schedule 1a
Schedule 1b
Schedule 3