United Nations Hazard Class Numbers

A hazardous material is a substance (gas, liquid, or solid) capable of causing harm to people, property, and the environment. The LF.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) uses the term hazardous materials to cover nine categories identified by the United Nations Hazard Class Number System, including ... 

UN Hazard Classes and Divisions — The hazard class of a material is indicated either by its class (or division) number, or its class name. For a placard corresponding to the primary hazard class of a material, the hazard class or division number must be displayed in the lower comer of the placard. The UN (United Nations) hazard classes are as follows ... 

Every compressed gas, when shipped, must be marked and labeled in accordance with the applicable regulations. Hazard labels are designed in accordance with United Nations standards and take the form of a square on point (i.e., diamond-shaped). They utilize colors, symbols, and frequently warning words to communicate the potential hazard of the compressed gas. The UN class number, 2 for compressed gases, is frequently shown in the lower point of the label reflecting the primary hazard. The hazard class number is omitted on labels identifying subsidiary hazards. 

Fireworks that meet the requirements of BS7114 must also be included in a publication called the UK List of Classified and Authorised Explosives (LOCAL) and more recently by LOCAF (the UK List of Classified and Authorised Fireworks 1999). These lists originate from the Explosives Acts and relate to civilian rather than to military explosives. Thus, the 1994 edition of LOCAL contains articles ascribed to Kimbolton, Pains and Le Maitre. For example, included in the FIREWORKS columns, will be found STANDARD SET PIECE. For this particular entry, the United Nations Serial Number is given as 0336, the Hazard Code is 1.4G, the UK Class and Division is 7.2, while the Competent Authority (HSE) Reference is GB 72411. 

The United Nations system (UNO) divides hazardous materials into nine classes for the purpose of determining the degree of risk in shipping and transport. The order and number of the class are not meant to imply the degree of risk or danger. These classes are as follows ... 

This section states whether the material is regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as a hazardous material. If it is, information in this section will include the hazard Class, United Nations (UN) or North America (NA) identification number, required labels, and restrictions on air or sea transport. 

Figure App. 3.7 Hazardous materials shipping labels for shipments under DOT and EEC regulations. The small number in the bottom corner of some labels is the optional United Nations (UN) or Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) class number (see Table App. 3.1).

The novel interest here was that the field tests proposed would have involved the first deliberate release of genetically engineered bacteria. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) already had established a Recombinant Advisory Committee (RAC) to consider the hazards of accidental release it was natural that RAC should assume responsibility for regulating the new class of experiments. The RAC guidelines show that the accidental release of engineered syringae is not considered a serious problem, since the construction of such strains is permitted under low levels of physical containment. The key difference between accidental and deliberate release is in the number of organisms likely to be introduced into the environment thus the main question was whether... 

There are more finite limits to certain important classes of hazardous chemicals. Thus, the number of chemicals in current use as drugs in the United States is estimated by the Food and Drug Administration at about 4000. The total number of pesticides in current usage in the United States is about 15(X) (EPA estimate). More than 38,000 compounds are listed in the 1980 computer version of the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS), which is prepared for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (4). Published annually, this is the most comprehensive listing of toxic chemicals available the computerized version is updated quarterly and is available via the TOXLINE system of the National Library of Medicine and the CIS (Chemical Information System), sponsored jointly by the National Institutes of Health and EPA. 

A more recent piece of U.S. legislation with a lead focus was Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act, referred to as the 1992 Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act or simply Title X. Tide X provides a number of steps to eliminate the most hazardous of lead-painted residences in public and certain classes of private housing. Its guiding purpose was to develop a national approach to creating infrastructure to eliminate hazards as rapidly as possible. Some provisions of the legislation as interpreted by HUD and EPA are controversial, particularly in the matter of interim controls of lead paint exposures in the most deteriorated living units. 

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