UN labels are self-adhesive black and white labels that are designed to be affixed to vehicles that are carrying hazardous chemicals and substances. Their marine-grade adhesive ensures that they are suitable for practically any vehicle, including cars, vans, lorries, trains, ships, and airplanes. They look like this:
How do UN labels identify hazardous materials?
Every UN label bears a four-digit number that corresponds to a specific substance. For instance...
- UN 1210 refers to printing inks.
- UN 1986 indicates the presence of flammable alcohol.
- UN 2810 is the UN number for pesticides and weed killers.
These numbers were assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNCETDG), and so each number is an international standard for the identification of its respective substance.
Who needs to display UN labels?
According to UN regulations, any vehicle containing potentially hazardous substances of any kind should be identified as such with the relevant UN label(s). This applies to vehicles travelling by road, rail, air and sea.
How do I find out the UN number for a specific substance?
A comprehensive list of UN numbers can be found on Wikipedia.
Do Label Source sell a label for every UN number?
Not quite. We do have a very wide range, covering all of the most common eventualities, but if you need a number that we don't stock, you can always purchase a blank UN label with a write-on panel.
Click here to see our full range of UN labels.
