Substances classified into one of the classes of hazardous goods under the UN system are allocated a universally agreed name by a United Nations agency called the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous goods. This is the “PROPER SHIPPING NAME”⁹⁴ and it is listed in Column 2 of the IMDG Dangerous Goods List, and in the IMDG alphabetical Index.

Every substance or article or generic N.O.S. hazard category that has a Proper Shipping Name is also allocated a unique four-digit number, hence the numbers are known as “UN Numbers”.

The UN Number is entered in Column 1 of the Dangerous Goods List (IMDG 3.2) and is the required starting point for obtaining data from the Dangerous Goods List. The Proper Shipping Name is entered in Column 2.

This number is intermodal and assists greatly in avoiding errors by providing a simple check when transposing names of chemicals with long complex chemical names in a different language, during documentation and emergency response.

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⁹⁴IMDG Code, 2022 Edition Amendment 41-22, Section 2.0.2

Type 1: Single-substance entries for well-defined individual substances or articles

For pure substances entered in the Dangerous Goods List ⁹⁵, the UN Number and Proper Shipping Name can stand alone:

Example: “UN 2022, CRESYLIC ACID”

Type 2: Group entries for well-defined groups of substances or articles

Some types of substance or article differ in composition but have identical hazard characteristics, so as far as transport is concerned may be treated as alike:

Example: “UN 1133, ADHESIVES” 

Type 3: Group entries for substances with a similar chemical or technical nature

Some types of substance have different names but similar chemical composition, so as far as transport is concerned may be treated as alike:

Example: “UN 1477, NITRATES, ORGANIC, N.O.S.” 

Type 4: General N.O.S. entries used to classify products made from mixtures of substances meeting the criteria of one or more hazard classes

Combining or diluting chemicals has the effect of altering the hazard characteristics of the component substances from those of the pure state to something else, and there are limitless ways in which chemical substances can be combined to make useful products.

It is not practicable to make an entry in the Dangerous Goods List for every possible combination of components, so N.O.S. generic names are used to overcome this. N.O.S. Proper Shipping Names describe the hazard classification, not the substance. There is an extensive list of N.O.S. generic names in IMDG Appendix A. When the classification process is completed, the most appropriate N.O.S. Proper Shipping Name in Appendix A is chosen from the list⁹⁶.

N.O.S. Proper Shipping Names are shown in Column 2 of the Dangerous Goods List but only the generic part of the name describing the hazard, e.g. “FLAMMABLE LIQUID, N.O.S.” and this is usually not the full Proper Shipping Name. With exceptions, in most cases N.O.S. entries are allocated Special Provision SP 274 which requires the Proper Shipping Name to be supplemented with the technical name of the dangerous components of the mixture. At least one technical name must be added in brackets after the generic description to provide emergency information. If there is more than one hazardous component, only the names of the two most hazardous components need be identified in this way.

The technical names are added in brackets after the generic description to provide emergency information. If there is more than one hazardous component, only the names of the two most hazardous components need be identified in this way.

Example 1: a 75% solution of propanol (flammable liquid) in water would not have the same characteristics as pure propanol so it would be classified as: “UN 1993, FLAMMABLE LIQUID N.O.S. (Contains propanol), 3”

Example 2: A liquid mixture containing 15% hydrochloric acid (corrosive) and 60% arsenic (toxic) would not be classified as either arsenic or hydrochloric acid, so would be classified under the N.O.S. criteria as: “UN 3289 TOXIC LIQUID, CORROSIVE, INORGANIC N.O.S. (Contains arsenic and hydrochloric acid), 6.1 (8).”

Additional information the shipper may need to supply for N.O.S. substances

For defined substances such as ADHESIVES, the variable dangerous goods details are tabulated in the Dangerous Goods List. For N.O.S. substances, because of their variable component range, the shipper may have to obtain any of the following factors from his classification and include them in his declaration:

• Packing Group (IMDG 2.0.1.3)
• Flashpoint (flammable liquids only)
• Marine pollutant (IMDG 2.10 and 2.0.1.2)
• Segregation group* (IMDG 3.1.4, and 7.2.5)
• Control and Emergency temperatures (5.4.1.5.4)

* If it is appropriate that an N.O.S substance should be included in one of the 18 segregation groups (see IMDG 3.1.4) the shipper shall include that segregation group in his cargo booking and shipper’s declaration (see also Part A Segregation).

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⁹⁵ IMDG Code, 2022 Edition Amendment 41-22, Section 2.0.2.2

96 IMDG Code, 2022 Edition Amendment 41-22, Sections 2.0.2.2 and 3.1.2.8