BY STEPHEN L. HERMANN
The Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) for hazardous materials, jointly developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Transport and Communications of Mexico, is intended to be placed in every fire apparatus, emergency medical service vehicle, and police car in the nation. Updated and reissued every three to four years, the latest edition, ERG2008, updates the 2004 edition. The next edition will appear in 2012. It is also available in online and interactive editions in English, Spanish, and French.
REVISIONS
Although ERG2008 has no major changes from the 2004 edition (ERG2004), there have been hundreds of revisions to initial isolation and protective action distances. In the ERG2008, the following items have been added, expanded, or revised from the ERG2004:
White Pages (General Information):
- Shipping Documents (Papers).
- How to Use this Guidebook During an Incident Involving Dangerous Goods.
- ERG2008 User’s Guide.
- Isolation and Evacuation Distances.
- Who to Call for Assistance.
- Hazard Classification System (the standard classes and divisions within classes used in hazardous materials transportation).
- Table of Placards and Initial Response Guide to Use On-Scene.
- Rail Car Identification Chart.
- Road Trailer Identification Chart.
- Pipeline Transportation (two new pages).
- Protective Clothing.
- Criminal/Terrorist Use of Chemical/Biological/Radiological Agents.
- Glossary.
- Publication Data and Related Information.
- Emergency Response Telephone Numbers.
Yellow- and Blue-Bordered Index Pages:
- Addition of new hazardous materials listed in the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations [14th (2005) and 15th (2007) revised editions].
- Highlights in the yellow-bordered and blue-bordered sections indicating that the user turn directly to “Table 1—Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances” (if there is no fire) have been changed to green.
Orange-Bordered Response Guides:
- Tune-up of some guides.
- Guide 147, left intentionally blank in the ERG2004, now covers Lithium Ion Batteries.
Green-Bordered Pages:
- Added Table 1 to “Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances” and Table 2 to “Water-Reactive Materials Which Produce Toxic Gases” titles.
- Addition of new hazardous materials to both tables.
- Tune-up of initial isolation and protective action distances.
USING ERG2008
The ERG2008 retains the features introduced in previous DOT guides:
- Recommended distances are in metric and English units.
- The term “dangerous goods” is synonymous with “hazardous materials.”
- The term “toxic” is synonymous with “poison” and “poisonous.”
- Two-page Guide on what to do.
- The suffix “P” is added to guide numbers to indicate a polymerization hazard.
- Each Guide shows the broad types of materials covered.
- The term “protective action distance,” along with an explanation of “in-place protection” replaces “evacuation distance.”
- “Table 1—Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances” pages are bordered in green for quick access.
- Simple, easy-to-understand advice.
The book retains its strongest asset—the use of vital, nontechnical, easy-to-follow information in a brief, practical form. The guide’s initial white pages contain reference and usage information, definitions, and general guidance, including examples of shipping papers, markings, and placards. Information on explosives directs users to Guide 112 (orange-bordered pages) for all explosives except for explosives 1.4 (explosives C), for which they are directed to Guide 114. If no specific chemical information is available, turn to Guide 111 and use it until additional information is available.
Page 6 offers the following “Safety Precautions,” which are explained in detail:
- 1. Approach cautiously from upwind.
- 2. Secure the scene (i.e., isolate and deny entry).
- 3. Identify the hazards.
- 4. Assess the situation.
- 5. Obtain help.
- 6. Decide on site entry.
- 7. Respond.
- 8. Above all (i.e., cautions).
On page 14, the DOT hazard class and division numbers are shown with corresponding hazard class names: e.g., “Class 2—Gases,” “Division 2.1—Flammable Gases.” Many trucking companies use the international hazardous materials placards that do not use the hazard class names but use numbers instead.
One of the most valuable features of ERG2008 remains the “Table 1—Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances,” starting on page 300. The preceding “Introduction” starts on page 293 and covers protective action decision factors, protective actions, background on the table, and how to use it. Table 1 covers those chemicals that are toxic or poisonous by inhalation and gives suggested initial isolation distances at the scene. It then recommends “Protective Action Distances,” which could involve evacuation, or “protection in place,” which recognizes that most business buildings or homes can provide air that is cleaner than that which evacuees might encounter in trying to leave an area of a toxic chemical cloud.
Substances are indexed in the yellow- and blue-bordered pages. Both indexes direct you to the appropriate orange-bordered Guide page, which gives the appropriate do’s and don’ts.
In the yellow-bordered pages, substances are listed in numerical order, according to the four-digit identification number assigned by either the United Nations or a North American committee (UN or NA prefix). The blue-bordered pages alphabetically list chemicals and, again, refer you to the proper orange-bordered Guide page for emergency response information. Entries highlighted in green in the yellow or blue indexes indicate the chemicals that are poisonous when inhaled and require users to see the green-bordered pages, which include “Table 1—Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances.”
The orange-bordered pages are divided into “Potential Hazards,” “Public Safety,” and “Emergency Response” sections.
“Potential Hazards” explains the possible hazards involved with the material and covers “Fire or Explosion” risk and “Health,” which covers the substance’s physical and toxicological hazards.
“Public Safety” gives guidance on general and evacuation information for the protection of the public and protective clothing advice.
“Emergency Response” is divided into three sections dealing with action planning data. “Fire” indicates recommended fire suppression and control actions, “Spill or Leak” addresses recommended actions for actual spills, and “First Aid” offers health action advice.
The green-bordered “Table 1—Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances” pages provide the recommended minimum distances at which to keep people away from spills of hazardous materials that produce poisonous effects when inhaled. Distances shown are those for the first 30 minutes of the incident and could increase after that time. The two areas of concern are the Initial Isolation Zone and the Protective Action Zone. The Initial Isolation Zone is the area where persons may be exposed to dangerous and life-threatening concentrations of materials. This is in all directions from the spill center. The Protective Action Zone is where downwind persons may become incapacitated and unable to take protective action or suffer serious or irreversible health effects. In the orange-bordered Guides under “Potential Hazards,” fragmentation hazards are clearly indicated. The public may be endangered for downwind distances of up to 11+ km (7+ miles). This is a square where the downwind width is the same as its length.
Hundreds of these distances have been revised. For example, on the first of 42 green-bordered pages, it lists 22 chemicals with 34 changes to recommended distances; 25 have been increased, and nine have been decreased. In some cases, distances were doubled or given greater increases, as in chlorine, where the initial isolation distance for a small spill has been increased from 100 to 200 feet and for a large spill from 900 to 2,000 feet.
Chemical warfare agents are listed alphabetically in the blue-bordered pages using their common names—e.g., tabun, sarin, and soman, and their common abbreviations, GA, GB, and VX. The four pages on chemical, biological, and radiological agents were developed by the Department of National Defence (Canada), the U.S. Department of the Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They discuss the following:
- Differences between chemical, biological, and radiological agents;
- Indicators of a possible chemical incident;
- Indicators of a possible biological incident;
- Indicators of a possible radiological incident; and
- Personal safety considerations.
In the United States, first responders must train in the use of this guidebook, according to U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 40 CFR Part 311) regulations. Emergency service organizations that have not yet received copies of ERG2008 should contact their state coordinator, whose contact information is available at the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Web site. The Web site also offers a free, full pdf file copy of ERG2008 and links to English, Spanish, and French interactive versions. Visit http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/library/erg, or call (202) 366-4900 in the United States for more information.
The DOT ERG2008 is the most widely used reference source for hazardous materials emergencies in the country; more than 11 million copies have been distributed free to date. Your emergency service vehicle should contain a copy of this book, which has become one of the most popular publications ever printed by the U.S. Government.
STEPHEN L. HERMANN retired as the hazardous materials coordinator for the Arizona Department of Public Safety and as Arizona’s senior state on-scene coordinator for hazardous materials emergency response. He is also a retired U.S. Army Reserve Chemical Corps colonel. He has supervised more than 200 serious hazardous materials highway and rail incidents over the past 25 years. Hermann has a bachelor of science degree in explosives technology from the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.
