Development of Standardized Emergency Response Assistance Plan (ERAP) Calculation Methodology

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Program develops risk-based safety standards and regulations, provides oversight and gives expert advice on dangerous goods (DG) incidents to promote public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods by all modes of transport in Canada. The TDG Act divides dangerous goods into nine classes according to the type of hazard they present. The nine classes are:

Class 1, Explosives; Class 2, Gases; Class 3, Flammable Liquids; Class 4, Flammable Solids, Substances Liable to Spontaneous Combustion, and Substances That on Contact with Water Emit Flammable Gases (Water-reactive Substances); Class 5, Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides; Class 6, Toxic and Infectious Substances; Class 7, Radioactive Materials; Class 8, Corrosives; and Class 9, Miscellaneous Products, Substances or Organisms.

Transport Canada (TC) is looking to obtain the services of a contractor to develop the framework and numerical basis for the systematic attribution of ERAP hazard scores to the substances listed in Schedule 1 of the TDGR. More specifically, the objective of the contract is to examine the substances by grouping class as listed in Schedule 1 of the TDGR and to develop a formula(e) for determining which substances should be included in the ERAP Program based on a weighted score of their inherent hazards and operational emergency response considerations. The total hazard scores would then be used to determine their hazard potential in transport and if they should potentially require an ERAP. Therefore, the hazards presented by the classifications of the individual UN numbers in each class and the complexity of response, including knowledge, equipment, and specialized skills, need to be determined in a standardized way in order to identify gaps in currently established ERAP requirements or for products not currently included in the ERAP program that should be considered for inclusion.