Overview
ISO 257:2018 - "Pesticides and other agrochemicals - Principles for the selection of common names" defines internationally agreed principles for creating short, distinctive common names for pesticides and other agrochemicals. The standard guides proposers, regulators and the ISO/TC 81 Maintenance Agency for ISO 1750 on how to build names that are easy to pronounce, language-neutral where possible, permanent, and not confusable with trademarks or existing chemical names.
Key Topics and Requirements
- Purpose and scope: Provide concise common names when systematic chemical names are too long for practical use (labels, regulations, commerce).
- General naming principles:
- Names should be short, distinctive and maintain identity across languages.
- Avoid single letters or numerals except as structural qualifiers; well‑known historical exceptions are noted.
- Prefer “f” over “ph” (with some exceptions) to aid international spelling.
- Include character strings that reflect chemical relationships (stems) while keeping names compact.
- Salts, esters and complex derivatives:
- Simple salts/esters: use parent acid/alcohol/base as the common name with a hyphenated suffix or complementary ion when needed (e.g., parent‑name‑sodium, parent‑name‑methyl).
- Complex esters/salts: use a name that represents the whole molecule.
- Use multiplying affixes to avoid ambiguity when multiple derivates are possible.
- Ions, radicals and stems:
- The standard provides recommended names for commonly occurring ions and radicals (e.g., ethadyl, olamine).
- Recommended stems link related chemicals and assist in consistent nomenclature.
- Isomers, purity and mixtures:
- Guidance on naming isomers, isomeric mixtures and on when a common name may apply to consistent reaction‑product mixtures.
- Style and sponsor information:
- Prescribed style for writing names and a list of information required from sponsors (common name proposal, systematic names, CAS RN, molecular/structural formula, active component, use, other names, trademark searches).
Applications and Users
ISO 257:2018 is intended for:
- Chemical manufacturers and agrochemical formulators proposing new common names
- Regulatory authorities, registration agencies and labeling specialists
- Standards bodies and the Maintenance Agency for ISO 1750
- Trade associations, regulatory compliance teams and supply‑chain partners who need consistent pesticide nomenclature for registration, labelling, safety data sheets and international trade.
Keywords: ISO 257:2018, pesticides common names, agrochemical nomenclature, naming principles, ISO 1750, pesticide registration.
Related standards
- ISO 1750 - Pesticides and other agrochemicals - Common names (maintenance and procedural relationship)
- ISO/TC 81 - Technical committee on common names for pesticides and agrochemicals
This standard supports clear, consistent pesticide nomenclature to minimize confusion in regulation, trade and safety communications.
