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FOREWORD

This Dangerous Goods - Initial Emergency Response Guide has been developed by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand. This joint edition is a revision of SAA HB 76:2004 and SNZ HB 76:2008 that were substantially based on the 2004 edition of the Emergency Response Guide (ERG) produced by Transport Canada, U.S.A. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Secretariat of Transport and Communications of Mexico (SCT). The generous provision by these organisations of their original text on their database available freely on the Internet, and their authorisation to use this material in this joint Australian/New Zealand version is gratefully acknowledged. While the basic structure has been maintained, the original ERG text has, however, been modified in a number of ways to:

(a) Remove references and terminology which are peculiar to Canada, North and South America;

(b) Suit Australian and New Zealand conditions;

(c) Incorporate Guides for vehicle fires and for aerosols; and

(d) Identify those United Nations (UN) numbers that have become obsolete.

The changes appearing in this revised edition have largely resulted from the newly assigned dangerous goods and UN numbers that appear in the 16th edition of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, and from alterations to the text to reflect the joint status of the handbook.

There have also been some changes of guide numbers for some dangerous goods to more closely reflect the appropriate actions to be taken in an emergency. A new Guide 52 has been added covering desensitised explosives and a number of guides have had additional requirements added.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide immediate general information and advice to persons handling dangerous goods emergencies. While written principally for trained emergency responders, it also contains advice, which anyone first on the scene of an incident should be able to follow.

This handbook is not a substitute for emergency response training, experience and sound judgement, but if used properly, it will expedite emergency response and help prevent an accident from becoming a catastrophe. It should be remembered that each numbered guide in this handbook can represent many individual chemicals or formulated products which share the same basic hazards as indicated at the top of the page. These products may, nonetheless, vary considerably in physical and chemical properties, and in degree of danger. Hence judgement, based on knowledge and experience, must play a key role in the emergency response process. For dealing with larger incidents, and cases where persons have been exposed to dangerous goods, it is strongly recommended that the information in this Guide be supplemented by more detailed information such as found in the relevant Safety Data Sheet, which should be obtained from the manufacturer or agent.

It should also be noted that, for the sake of brevity, the chemical entries, which appear in the lists, are not always identical to the New Zealand Standard, NZS 5433:2007, or the ADG Code; for example, concentration values may not appear in entries in the lists. Also the class, division or subsidiary risk (sub-risk) prescribed in NZS 5433:2007 and the ADG Code may not reflect all of the hazards which should be considered in an emergency.