UN number
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 liquids, 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.
UN numbers range from UN0001 to about UN3518 and are assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. They are published as part of their Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, also known as the Orange Book. These recommendations are adopted by the regulatory organization responsible for the different modes of transport.
There is no UN number allocated to non-hazardous substances. These will simply not have a UN number.
For more details, see Lists of UN numbers.
NA numbers (North America), also known as DOT numbers are issued by the United States Department of Transportation and are identical to UN numbers, except that some substances without a UN number may have an NA number. These additional NA numbers use the range NA8000 - NA9999.
Hazard identifiers
Associated with each UN number is a hazard identifier, which encodes the general hazard class and subdivision (and, in the case of explosives, their compatibility group). If a substance poses several dangers, then subsidiary risk identifiers may be specified. It is not possible to deduce the hazard class(es) of a substance from its UN number: they have to be looked up in a table.
| Class | Division | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Explosives | |
| Division 1.1 | Explosives with a mass explosion hazard | |
| Division 1.2 | Explosives with a projection hazard | |
| Division 1.3 | Explosives with predominantly a fire hazard | |
| Division 1.4 | Explosives with no significant blast hazard | |
| Division 1.5 | Highly insensitive explosives with a mass explosion hazard | |
| Division 1.6 | Extremely insensitive articles | |
| Class 2 | Gases | |
| Division 2.1 | Flammable gases | |
| Division 2.2 | Non-flammable, non-toxic (non-poisonous) gases | |
| Division 2.3 | Toxic (poisonous) gases | |
| Class 3 | Flammable liquids (and Combustible liquids [U.S.]) | |
| Class 4 | Flammable solids; Spontaneously combustible materials; and Dangerous when wet materials/Water-reactive substances | |
| Division 4.1 | Flammable solids | |
| Division 4.2 | Spontaneously combustible materials | |
| Division 4.3 | Water-reactive substances/Dangerous when wet materials | |
| Class 5 | Oxidizing substances and Organic peroxides | |
| Division 5.1 | Oxidizing substances | |
| Division 5.2 | Organic peroxides | |
| Class 6 | Toxic (poisonous) substances and Infectious substances | |
| Division 6.1 | Toxic (poisonous) substances | |
| Division 6.2 | Infectious substances | |
| Class 7 | Radioactive materials | |
| Class 8 | Corrosive substances | |
| Class 9 | Miscellaneous hazardous materials/Products, Substances, or Organisms |
See also
External links
 |
Wikidata has a property, P695, for UN numbers (see uses) |
- Search UN/NA-numbers HazMat Database based on US-CFR 49
- United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods
- UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. Part 2 defines the hazard classes and their divisions and Part 3 contains a complete list of all UN numbers and their hazard identifiers.
- The Emergency Response Guidebook from the U.S. Department of Transportation contains a list of all assigned NA numbers along with recommended emergency procedures.
- UN and NA Numbers. Site provides bill of lading shipping descriptions for transportation in the U.S.