2.10 Codes for technical types of products and preparations (use categories)

2.10    Codes for technical types of products and preparations (use categories)

A few years ago a code list of 62 use categories, UC62, for chemical substances and preparations was developed on the basis of the 55 function categories designed by EU for new substances, later included in the HEDSET for existing substances. These substance categories could with addition of 7 new categories and a few adjustments be used for preparations as well, so the 2-digit key was retained in combination with a single letter indicating the degree of change compared to the substance categories. The Nordic registers (with Finland starting after 2003) report to SPIN using UC62.

Between 1993 and 2001 the product register in Finland used a national list of 36 use categories. In year 2002 the national use categories were changed to the UC62 codes.

The national codes used by the other registers are more detailed than UC62. Denmark and Norway use a code system describing technical function of chemical substances and preparations with practically no reference to the chemical basis. There are about 120 main categories subdivided to more than 400 specific categories.

The Swedish national use categories for report of a product to the products register are specifically created for this purpose. They can mirror the function for which a substance is used or what kind of a preparation the product is. The aim of naming the product types, that are called functions in the nomenclature of the register, has been to use the same naming as the supplier. There are about 220 Swedish use categories that were used up to 2001.

In 2002 a new set of harmonized product type codes, UCN (Use Categories Nordic) have been developed by Norway, Sweden and Denmark. UCN has replaced the existing national codes in these tree countries. In Sweden and Norway the UCN has been used since 2002.