{"operation":"document","citation":"ERG 2024, ERG2024 User's Guide","title":"ERG2024 User's Guide","source_type":"guidance","agency":"U.S. DOT / Transport Canada / SICT","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2024-04-04","effective_on":null,"summary":"Official ERG2024 erg2024 user's guide guidance, pages 346-351.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-erg-2024-users-guide.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-erg-2024-users-guide.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-erg-2024-users-guide","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2024-04/ERG2024-Eng-Web-a.pdf#page=346","body":"ERG2024 USER’S GUIDE\nFor the purposes of this guidebook, the terms hazardous materials/dangerous goods are\nsynonymous.\nThe 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2024) was developed jointly by Transport\nCanada (TC), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Secretariat of\nInfrastructures, Communications and Transport of Mexico (SICT), with help from CIQUIME\n(Centro de Información Química para Emergencias) of Argentina.\nThis guidebook is for firefighters, police and other emergency services personnel who may\nbe first to arrive at the scene of a transportation incident involving dangerous goods.\nIt is primarily a guide to help first responders to quickly:\n•\nidentify the specific or generic hazards of material(s) involved in a transportation\nincident\n•\nprotect themselves and the general public during the initial response phase\nof the incident\nFor the purposes of this guidebook, “initial response phase” is the period after first responders\narrive at the scene of an incident. During this phase, responders:\n•\nconfirm the presence and/or identification of dangerous goods\n•\nstart taking protective action and securing the area\n•\nrequest the help of qualified personnel\nThis guide is designed for use at a dangerous goods incident on a highway or railroad. It may\nhave limited value at fixed-facility locations, or onboard aircrafts or vessels.\nThis guide does not:\n•\nprovide information on the physical or chemical properties of dangerous goods\n•\nreplace emergency response training, knowledge, or sound judgment\n•\naddress all possible circumstances that may be associated with a dangerous goods\nincident\nERG2024 incorporates dangerous goods lists from the most recent United Nations\nRecommendations, and from other international and national regulations.\nExplosives are not listed individually (by either proper shipping name or ID number) but,\nunder the general heading “Explosives”, they do appear:\n•\nat the beginning of the ID Number index (yellow section)\n•\nalphabetically in the Name of Material index (blue section)\nChemical and biological warfare agents are now found in the “Criminal or Terrorist Use of\nChemical, Biological and Radiological Agents” section.\nPage 344\n\nThe letter (P) following the guide number in the yellow and blue sections\nidentifies materials that present a polymerization hazard under certain conditions.\nFor example: UN1092 - Acrolein, stabilized GUIDE 131P.\nFirst responders at the scene of a dangerous goods incident should not solely rely on this\nguidebook. Always seek specific information about any material in question as soon as\npossible. To do so:\n•\n•\n•\nContact the appropriate emergency response agency listed on the inside back cover.\nCall the emergency response telephone number on the shipping paper.\nConsult information on or accompanying the shipping paper.\nBEFORE AN EMERGENCY – BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THIS GUIDEBOOK! In the\nU.S., according to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety\nand Health Administration (OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.120) and regulations issued by the U.S.\nEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA, 40 CFR Part 311), first responders must be trained\nin how to use this guidebook.\nGUIDEBOOK CONTENTS\n1- Yellow section: Index list of dangerous goods in order of ID number. The list displays the\n4-digit ID followed by its assigned emergency response guide and material name.\nFor example: ID No. GUIDE No. Name of Material\n1090 127 Acetone\n2- Blue section: Index list of dangerous goods in alphabetical order of material name. The list\ndisplays the name followed by its assigned emergency response guide and 4-digit ID number.\nFor example: Name of Material GUIDE No. ID No.\nSulfuric acid 137 1830\n3- Orange section: All safety recommendations are provided here. It is made up of 62\nindividual guides. Each guide recommends safety and emergency response procedures\nto protect yourself and the public. Each guide applies to a group of materials with similar\nchemical and toxicological characteristics. The guide title identifies the general hazards of\nthe dangerous goods.\nFor example: GUIDE 124 - Gases - Toxic and/or Corrosive - Oxidizing.\nPage 345\n\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\nEach guide is divided into 3 main sections:\nPOTENTIAL HAZARDS:\n•\nDisplays the hazards in terms of FIRE OR EXPLOSION and HEALTH effects upon\nexposure.\nPrimary potential hazard is listed first.\nConsult this section first to help you make decisions about how to protect the\nemergency response team and surrounding population.\nPUBLIC SAFETY:\nProvides general information on initial precautionary measures to be taken by those\nfirst on scene.\nProvides general guidance on PROTECTIVE CLOTHING requirements and respiratory\nprotection.\nLists suggested EVACUATION distances for immediate precautionary measures,\nspills, and for fires (fragmentation hazard).\nWhen the material is highlighted in green in the yellow and blue sections, it directs\nthe reader to consult Table 1, which lists Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) (PIH in the\nU.S.) materials and water-reactive materials (green section).\nEMERGENCY RESPONSE:\nOutlines special precautions for incidents that involve FIRE, SPILL OR LEAK or\nchemical exposure.\nLists several recommendations under each part to further assist your decision-making\nprocess.\nProvides specific FIRST AID guidance to use for a product or a guide in addition to the\ngeneral first aid guidance for hazardous materials/dangerous goods incidents. General\nfirst aid guidance is found in the “General First Aid” section situated immediately after\nthe “How to use the Orange Guides” section.\n4- Green section: This section has 3 tables.\nTable 1 - Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances\nLists, by order of ID number:\n•\nTIH (PIH in the U.S.) materials\n•\nwater-reactive materials which produce toxic gases upon contact with water\nThese materials are highlighted in green in the yellow and blue sections so you can easily\nidentify them.\n•\n•\n•\nPage 346\n\nTable 1 provides two types of recommended safety distances: “initial isolation distances”\nand “protective action distances” for:\n•\nsmall spills: 208 liters (55 US gallons) or less\n•\nlarge spills: more than 208 liters (55 US gallons)\nWithin the “initial isolation distance”, protective clothing and respiratory protection is\nrequired. You should consider evacuating all people in all directions from the spill or leak\nsource. This distance defines the radius of the “initial isolation zone” surrounding the spill in\nwhich people may be exposed to:\n•\ndangerous concentrations upwind of the source\n•\nlife-threatening concentrations downwind of the source\nThe “protective action distances” are downwind distances from the spill or leak source,\nwithin which responders could carry out protective actions to:\n•\n•\npreserve the health and safety of emergency responders and the public\nevacuate and/or shelter-in-place people in this area (For more information, consult\nthe “Protective Actions” section)\nThe “protective action distance” is divided into daytime and nighttime incidents because\nvarying atmospheric conditions affect a hazardous area’s size. In fact, the quantity or\nconcentration of the material’s vapor poses problems, not its mere presence. During the night,\nthe air is generally calmer. This causes the vapor to disperse less and therefore creates a\ngreater toxic zone. In daytime, the atmosphere is more active, so the vapor disperses more.\nAs a result, there is a lower concentration of vapor in the surrounding air and the area that\nreaches toxic levels is smaller. Daytime is after sunrise and before sunset. Nighttime is\nbetween sunset and sunrise.\nFor example, in the case of a small spill of UN1955 - compressed gas, toxic, n.o.s., the\n“initial isolation distance” is 150 meters (500 feet); therefore its “initial isolation zone” is\n300 meters (1000 feet) in diameter. Its “protective action distance” is 1.0 kilometer (0.6\nmiles) for daytime and 3.9 kilometers (2.4 miles) for nighttime.\nNote 1: Some water-reactive materials have 2 entries in Table 1. They are identified by\n(when spilled on land) since they are TIH products and (when spilled in water) because\nthey produce additional toxic gases when spilled in water.\nFor example: UN1746 - Bromine trifluoride and UN1836 - Thionyl chloride.\nNote 2: If a water-reactive material only has one entry in Table 1 for (when spilled in water)\nand the product is NOT spilled in water, Table 1 and Table 2 do not apply. You will find safe\ndistances in the appropriate orange guide.\nFor example: UN1183 - Ethyldichlorosilane and UN1898 – Acetyl iodide.\nPage 347\n\nTable 2 - Water-Reactive Materials Which Produce Toxic Gases\nLists:\n•\n•\nby order of ID number, materials which produce large amounts of Toxic Inhalation\nHazard (TIH) gases when spilled in water; and\nTIH gases produced by these materials.\nYou can easily identify water-reactive materials in Table 1, as their names are immediately\nfollowed by (when spilled in water).\nNOTE: The TIH gases indicated in Table 2 are for information purposes only. These TIH\ngases have already been taken into consideration in the distances of Table 1.\nFor example, Table 2 indicates that UN1689 sodium cyanide, solid, when spilled in water,\nwill generate hydrogen cyanide gas (HCN). In Table 1, you must refer to the distances for\nsodium cyanide, solid and not the distances for hydrogen cyanide gas.\nTable 3 - Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances for Large Spills for Different\nQuantities of Six Common TIH Gases\nLists the following 6 most common TIH materials:\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\n•\nUN1005 - Ammonia, anhydrous\nUN1017 - Chlorine\nUN1040 - Ethylene oxide and UN1040 - Ethylene oxide with nitrogen\nUN1050 - Hydrogen chloride, anhydrous and UN2186 - Hydrogen chloride, refrigerated\nliquid\nUN1052 - Hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous\nUN1079 - Sulfur dioxide/Sulphur dioxide\nTable 3 shows:\ninitial isolation and protective action distances for large spills (more than 208 liters\nor 55 US gallons)\ndifferent container types (therefore different volume capacities) for daytime and\nnighttime, and for three different wind speeds (low, moderate and high)\nPage 348\n\nHOW TO CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE ISOLATION AND PROTECTIVE ACTION\nDISTANCES\nERG2024 lists isolation or evacuation distances in 2 places:\n•\nthe individual guides (orange section)\n•\nTable 1 – Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances (green section)\nIf you are dealing with a non-TIH material (not highlighted in green in the yellow or blue\nsection),\n•\n•\nGo to the assigned guide for the material (orange section).\nUnder EVACUATION, you will find:\n− initial isolation distance as an immediate precautionary measure\n−\n− specific distances for spill or fire situations (fragmentation hazard)\n−\n− Please note that certain guides may also refer to Table 1. This is just a reminder\n−\nfor green highlighted materials only.\nIf you are dealing with a TIH or water-reactive material (green highlighted entries in the\nyellow or blue section):\nIf there is no fire:\n•\nGo directly to Table 1 – Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances (green section).\n•\nAlso, consult the assigned guide for the material (orange section).\nIf a fire is involved:\n•\nGo directly to the assigned guide (orange section) and apply the distances found\nunder EVACUATION - Fire.\n•\nAlso, consult Table 1 distances for residual material release.\nPage 349","truncated":false,"body_characters":11317}