Stay updated on news, articles and information for the rail industry
8/21/2015
Labelmaster: 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook

Labelmaster offers the 2016 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG), a manual to help responders quickly identify the specific or generic classification of the hazardous material or materials that may be involved in an incident.
The ERG is published every four years by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to meet updated regulations and new products and technology, and incorporate relevant feedback from emergency responders. The 2016 ERG is due to be released in the first quarter of 2016.
The new version includes 10 added, revised or expanded sections, covers approximately 3,500 materials and features 62 separate guides for describing what to do when different categories of hazardous materials are released.
Updates to the 2016 ERG edition include:
• expanded Rail Car Identification and Road Trailer Identification charts
• added information about Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) markings
• expanded table of placards
• updated pipeline emergency response information
• addition of all new dangerous goods/hazardous materials listed in UN Recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods
The ERG is ideal for truck drivers, railroad and maritime personnel, freight facility and warehouse workers, pipeline employees, first responders, pilots and air freight handlers, and police and firefighters, the company says.