Chemical names

There are a number of different chemical naming systems, both formal and informal, which are used in industry and by the general public.  This can make chemical identification complex.

There is an official naming system, IUPAC, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which covers inorganic and organic chemical substances.  The IUPAC system is designed so that the name is derived from the chemical structure, and therefore also allows one to derive the structure of the chemical from the name.  For more details, see here: https://ttenvironmenta.wpengine.com/clp-knowledgebase/the-iupac-nomenclature-system/ .

Although the IUPAC system is very logical, and does use some traditional chemical substance names because they are used so widely, it can lead to very long chemical names which are too cumbersome for everyday use.  However, some industries have specific official or unofficial sets of names which can be used instead of the IUPAC name, including for CLP labelling and REACH SDSs.

These industry substance names include:

• dyes and pigments – Colour Index names and numbers, https://colour-index.com , see also https://ttenvironmenta.wpengine.com/clp-knowledgebase/colour-index-names-and-numbers/
• cosmetics ingredients (INCI, the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients), available to purchase from http://webdictionary.personalcarecouncil.org/jsp/Home.jsp and free EU version https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/cosmetics/cosing_en (includes INCI names)
• pesticides (iso), free list available online (both current and historic products): http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/  ; current list of approved crop protection products in the UK, the BCPC Pesticide Manual, available to purchase from: http://www.bcpc.org/product/bcpc-online-pesticide-manual-latest-version
• biocides  – ECHA has a list of approved biocidal substances (which includes pesticides) at https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals/biocidal-active-substances
• British drug approved names, available to purchase from  https://www.tsoshop.co.uk/MHRA/British-Approved-Names-BAN-2017/
• pharmaceutical ingredient names are listed in the British Pharmacopeia, available to purchase from: https://www.tsoshop.co.uk/MHRA/British-Pharmacopoeia-2018/ 
• a fragrance ingredient list is available from IFRA http://www.ifraorg.org/en/ingredients#.WUjhOe3yvIU

The situation for mixtures (and chemical substances referred to by a trade name) is more complex, see https://ttenvironmenta.wpengine.com/clp-knowledgebase/chemical-trade-names/ .