To enhance the safety management system for dangerous goods, the revision work for the recommended national standard Rule of Nomenclature for Dangerous Goods was officially initiated on June 3, 2025, and is now open for public comment. The standard project has a 12-month cycle, with completion planned for 2026. The first draft for comments was finalized and revised in January 2026. Issued jointly by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China, the standard aims to address the current lack of uniformity in the naming of dangerous goods within China's management framework.
Draft of Rule of Nomenclature for Dangerous Goods (Draft for Comments)
Scope
This standard specifies the nomenclature principles and additional conditions for the proper shipping names, generic names, names of mixtures and solutions, and synonyms of dangerous goods. It is applicable to the transport and storage of dangerous goods.
This standard has been revised and improved based on foundational standards such as GB 6944 Classification and Code of Dangerous Goods and GB 12268 List of Dangerous Goods, with reference to the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods – Model Regulations (24th revised edition).
This document replaces GB/T 7694—2008 (Rule of Nomenclature for Dangerous Goods). The main technical changes compared to the 2008 version are as follows:
- Addition of some referenced documents.
- Revision of nomenclature principles for pure substances not specified under "generic names of dangerous goods." For "not otherwise specified" (N.O.S.) general entries, if the dangerous good is a pure substance, its proper shipping name must be supplemented with the technical name of that pure substance, except for controlled substances whose disclosure is prohibited by national law or international convention.
- Revision of nomenclature principles for "mixtures or solutions." It stipulates that for mixtures or solutions not listed in the List of Dangerous Goods, if they contain a listed component and their hazard class/division and packing group are identical to those of the listed substance, the transport name may be the name of that dangerous good suffixed with "mixture" or "solution," and the content or concentration of the hazardous component may be indicated. If the hazard class/division or packing group changes, an appropriate "not otherwise specified" general entry should be selected.
- Revision of content in the "additional conditions for names of dangerous goods" section. Solid substances transported in a molten state must have the qualifying terms "molten" or "liquid" added as part of their proper shipping name. Self-reactive substances and organic peroxides that would be prohibited for transport without a stabilizer must include the term "stabilized."
Implementation Transition Period
After the release of this standard, relevant entities will need to make adjustments based on the changes. Therefore, a transition period of 3 months between the release date and the effective date is proposed for this recommended national standard to ensure its smooth implementation.
