Development of the Table of Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances for the 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
The transportation of hazardous materials creates numerous opportunities for the release of toxic substances into the environment, whether caused by traffic accidents, train derailments, equipment failures, or human error. Such releases can pose acute hazards to the general public and to emergency response personnel who are the first to arrive at the scene. To help first responders determine whether a shipment is potentially hazardous and decide what actions should be taken if a toxic spill does occur, the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) is published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Transport and Communications of Mexico; with contributions from Centro de Informaciòn Quìmica para Emergencias of Argentina. The most recent version is the 2024 edition of the ERG (ERG 2024), titled 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2024). The ERG provides essential information about firefighting, spill response, and potential public health effects. For chemicals that are toxic by inhalation (TIH) and chemicals that produce TIH gases upon reaction with water (TIH by water reactivity or TIHWR), the ERG provides initial isolation distances (IIDs) and protective action distances (PADs). The IID defines the radius of the zone around the spill that should be accessed solely by people who are directly involved in emergency response. The PAD is the distance downwind of the source of the release within which persons should be either evacuated or sheltered in place, depending on the severity of the incident and the nature of the population (e.g., density, age, health).
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; U.S. Department of Transportation
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 2569588
- Report Number(s):
- ANL-SSS--25-11; 196409
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Development of the table of initial isolation distances and protective action distances for the 2004 emergency response guidebook.
North American emergency response guidebook, 1996. A guidebook for first responders during the initial phase of a hazardous materials/dangerous goods incident