I believe you have also encountered such doubts before. Obviously, "hazardous chemicals" and "dangerous goods" belong to different conceptual categories. So, how should they be distinguished? What are the differences in its regulatory conditions? Let me slowly explain it to you.

1、 Different sources of regulations

《Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals（Article 3 of State Council Decree No. 591: Hazardous chemicals refer to highly toxic chemicals and other chemicals that have toxic, corrosive, explosive, flammable, and combustible properties and pose a threat to human health, facilities, and the environment. From the definition, it can be seen that 'hazardous chemicals' apply to' chemicals'.
Regulations on the Safety Management of Dangerous Goods in Ports issued by the Ministry of TransportAccording to the regulations, dangerous goods refer to goods that are listed in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code and the national standard "List of Dangerous Goods" (GB12268) formulated by the International Maritime Organization, and have characteristics such as explosion, flammability, toxicity, infection, corrosion, and radioactivity, which are prone to cause personal injury, property damage, or harm to the environment and require special protection.

Regulations on the Management of Road Transport of Dangerous Goods issued by the Ministry of TransportAccording to regulations, dangerous goods refer to substances and items that have hazardous characteristics such as explosion, flammability, toxicity, infection, and corrosion, and are prone to cause personal injury, property damage, or environmental pollution during production, operation, transportation, storage, use, and disposal, requiring special protection. From a definition perspective, 'dangerous goods' applies to both' chemicals' and 'articles', and has special requirements for the packaging used.

2、 Different confirmation principles

The classification of hazardous chemicals is mainly based on the United Nations GHS system. China's classification of hazardous chemicals is mainly based on the GB 30000 series standards, whose technical content is completely consistent with the fourth revised edition of the United Nations GHS, emphasizing the hazards of multiple links such as production, storage, circulation, and transportation. Hazardous chemicals are divided into 28 categories, including 16 physical hazards, 10 health hazards, and 2 environmental hazards.

Normally, chemicals listed in the "Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals" (2015 edition) or meeting the confirmation principles in the catalogue are considered hazardous chemicals. At present, the GHS system (6th revised edition) has expanded the list of hazardous chemicals to 29 categories (including desensitized explosives), while the current principles for identifying hazardous chemicals in China still only include 28 categories, as shown in Table 1.

The classification of dangerous goods is mainly based on the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG) and its derivative documents, including the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the Technical Rules for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, the International Railway Transport Dangerous Goods Code, the International Road Transport Dangerous Goods Agreement, and the International Inland Waterway Transport Dangerous Goods Agreement. It mainly focuses on the transportation process, emphasizes short-term hazards, and divides dangerous goods into 9 categories, as shown in Table 2. The confirmation principles for dangerous goods in China are mainly based on the "List of Dangerous Goods Names" (GB 12268-2012) and the "Classification and Numbering of Dangerous Goods" (GB 6944-2012), and their technical content is consistent with TDG.

3、 Different regulatory entities

In China, the main regulatory departments for hazardous chemicals include the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Quality Inspection Bureau, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; The regulatory authorities for dangerous goods are mainly the relevant authorities in charge of transportation, such as the Ministry of Transport.

For some goods, due to their unique characteristics, there may be situations where they are identified as dangerous goods but not classified as hazardous chemicals. The specific reasons are mainly divided into the following three types:

The goods are classified as dangerous goods and not chemical substances (such as car airbags, etc.);
2. The transportation conditions for the goods are special (such as high-temperature transportation);
The danger of the goods is not among the 29 hazards of hazardous chemicals (such as infectious substances and radioactive substances).

Of course, there is also a significant portion of substances that are both hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods, or neither hazardous chemicals nor dangerous goods. For example:

Commonly used hazardous chemical labeling

Standard Information:

The labeling of commonly used hazardous chemicals is regulated by the "Classification and Labeling of Commonly Used Hazardous Chemicals (GB 13690-92)", which references the "Labeling of Dangerous Goods Packaging (GB 190-90)".

Logo specifications:

Types of Signs: Based on the hazardous characteristics and categories of commonly used hazardous chemicals, there are 16 main signs and 11 auxiliary signs.

Logo pattern:

Quick discrimination tips

① Based on the product name and CAS number, directly determine whether it belongs to hazardous chemicals;
② According to the safety data sheet, collect the alias of the goods, the closed cup flash point, or combine it with GHS classification to determine whether it meets the definition and determination principles of hazardous chemicals;
③ Determine whether it belongs to dangerous goods based on the UN number in Part 14 of the Safety Data Sheet Transport Information;
④ Determine whether the goods belong to dangerous goods based on whether the outer packaging of the goods is labeled with a transport label (the significant difference between the hazardous chemical pictogram and the dangerous goods transport label is shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3);
⑤ Determine whether the goods belong to hazardous chemicals or dangerous goods based on the classification and identification report of hazardous characteristics or the identification report of goods transportation conditions.

Article source: China Aviation Trade Micro Platform