Dangerous goods classification (classification key) allocates a UN number and a risk potential to a material depending on a dangerous goods regulation. The risk potential contains information about dangerous goods letters and the packaging group. The material can be allocated directly to the dangerous goods classification, or via a real substance.

The UN number is linked directly to a listed substance. You maintain the dangerous goods class which applies to the listed substance in R/3 Substance Management, in accordance with regulations. You manage the resulting dangerous goods records for this listed substance in accordance with the risk potential.

You use the classification key to store legal dangerous goods data within the substance database in accordance with the dangerous goods regulation, UN number and risk potential.

Dangerous goods data is created for a substance of substance category UN Listed Substance. The UN number is allocated to this substance as an identifier of identification type Number and of identification category UN Number. The EH&S Dangerous goods regulations properties tree is allocated to the substance category UN listed substance. The properties tree contains substance characteristic category Dangerous goods regulations of substance characteristic type Additional data for dangerous goods. You manage the dangerous goods data from within this substance characteristic category.

The dangerous goods data of a UN listed substance always refers to a particular dangerous goods regulation and dangerous goods class. The data includes

• Characteristics such as MFAG number, subclass, danger label number, for example

• Legal data:

• Transport approval

• Packaging code approval

• Risk classification

The classification key is created as a substance of substance category Dangerous goods classification. The EH&S Dangerous goods classification properties tree is allocated to this substance category. The properties tree contains the substance characteristic category Dangerous goods classification of substance characteristic type Transport classification.

In accordance with the dangerous goods regulation, you use the corresponding listed substance of substance category UN Listed substance within substance characteristic category Dangerous goods classification to define the allocation of the UN number and the dangerous goods class to the classification key. You categorize the remaining dangerous goods data by choosing the correct risk potential.

The classification key refers to materials. You can allocate the materials in two ways:

• Substances of substance category Dangerous goods classification may be used as reference substances. This is defined in Customizing for Product Safety in the IMG activity Specify substance categories. You can allocate real substances to the classification key correspondingly. You can allocate materials to the real substances and in this way, allocate all materials that belong to a real substance to a classification key at the same time.
• If a material requires its own classification key, you allocate the required classification key to this material directly using material-substance allocation. In this case, Customizing for Product Safety also allows materials to be allocated to substances of the substance category Dangerous goods classification.

You can use all dangerous goods data that you entered in the substance database for filling dangerous goods master data.