ADR Substance Lookup (Beta)

The upper figure on the orange plate is the hazard identification number, the one known as the Kemler code. Under ADR 5.3.2.3.1 it has two or three digits: 2 is gas given off under pressure or by chemical reaction, 3 flammability of liquids or a liquid liable to self-heat, 4 flammability of a solid or a solid liable to self-heat, 5 oxidizing, 6 toxicity or risk of infection, 7 radioactivity, 8 corrosivity and 9 risk of spontaneous violent reaction. A repeated digit means that hazard is intensified, and a zero is added when one digit is enough to describe it. The letter X in front is the one to remember: the substance reacts dangerously with water, and water may only be used with the agreement of experts.

It is column (15) of Table A and it tells you which tunnel categories the load may not pass through. ADR 1.9.5 sets five categories: A carries no restriction at all, and B to E restrict progressively, beginning with the goods liable to cause a very large explosion. A code of C means prohibited in tunnels C, D and E; B/D means that in a tank or in bulk it is prohibited in B, C, D and E, while in packages it is prohibited only in D and E. The category of each tunnel is set by the national authority and signposted at the entrance: the code gives you the restriction, not the road.

The transport category is what feeds the exemption in ADR 1.1.3.6, the one known as the thousand-point rule. Each category carries a multiplier — category 1 counts 50, category 2 counts 3, category 3 counts 1 and category 4 counts 0 — and the total for the transport unit has to stay at 1000 or below. Below that threshold a set of ADR requirements stops applying. Our free 1.1.3.6 calculator does the arithmetic once you have the category from here.

Because one UN number can have more than one entry in Table A. The packing group, the classification code, the tunnel code or the limited quantity may differ between them, usually because the same substance appears in different concentrations, states or packing groups. The tool shows you every distinct combination rather than picking one for you: choosing the line that matches your consignment is the shipper's decision, and it is made from the proper shipping name and the packing group of the goods actually being carried.

They are two reliefs in the ADR. Limited quantities (chapter 3.4) let small inner receptacles travel under reduced requirements with their own mark instead of full labelling; the figure in column (7a) is the maximum per inner packaging, not per consignment. Excepted quantities (chapter 3.5) go further, with much smaller amounts and their own mark, and column (7b) gives a code from E0 to E5: E0 means that entry is not admitted as an excepted quantity.