On May 7, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced a public meeting scheduled for June 17, 2019, to solicit input on the development of the 2020 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook.

The ERG is a guidebook intended for use by first responders during the initial phase of a transportation incident involving dangerous goods/hazardous materials and has been updated and published every four years.

During the June 17 meeting, PHMSA will discuss methodology used to determine the appropriate response protective distances for poisonous vapors resulting from spills involving dangerous goods considered toxic by inhalation in the “green pages” of the 2016 ERG. PHMSA will also solicit comments related to new methodologies and considerations for future editions of the ERG and discuss outcomes of field experiments as well as ongoing research to better understand environmental effects on airborne toxic gas concentrations and updates that will be published in the 2020 ERG.

Since 1980, it has been PHMSA’s goal that all public emergency response personnel have free and immediate access to the ERG. To date, nearly 14.5 million free copies have been distributed to the emergency response community through state emergency management coordinators. PHMSA has also developed free online resources and mobile applications to make the ERG more accessible.

For more information on the meeting, including how to participate, please visit the full notice of public meeting in the federal register. For additional information on the ERG, please visit https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/erg/emergency-response-guidebook-erg.