When an incident has occurred with a shipment that requires an Emergency Response Assistance Plan (ERAP) section 8.20 of the TDG Regulations requires that an ERAP incident report be made as soon as possible. This is for any incident which causes a release or anticipated release of the dangerous goods in the course of their handling or transporting, and which endangers, or could endanger, public safety.
The report is made by the person who has the charge, management or control of a means of containment to the person at the ERAP telephone number required to be included in a shipping document. This report is intended to inform the person who has the ERAP that a release or anticipated release has occurred, so that they can respond.
- The ERAP incident report must be made by the person having care, management or control of the dangerous goods or means of containment before any response actions are taken, unless those response actions immediately reduce or eliminate the danger to public safety that results or may reasonably be expected to result from a release.
- A report must still be made, even if the release is no longer occurring.
Information to be included in the report, as found in section 8.21 of the TDG Regulations, are listed below:
- the name and contact information of the person making the report
- the ERAP reference number
- in the case of a release of dangerous goods, the date, time and geographical location of the release
- in the case of an anticipated release of dangerous goods, the date, time and geographical location of the incident that led to the anticipated release
- the mode of transport used
- the shipping name or UN number of the dangerous goods
- the quantity of dangerous goods that was in the means of containment before the release or anticipated release
- in the case of a release of dangerous goods, the quantity of dangerous goods estimated to have been released
- a description of the means of containment containing the dangerous goods
- an indication of whether a means of containment has been damaged to the extent that its integrity could be compromised
- an indication of whether a transfer of the dangerous goods to another means of containment is anticipated or required
- if applicable, the type of incident leading to the release or anticipated release, including a collision, rollover, derailment, overfill, fire, explosion or load-shift
Incidents involving shipments that require an ERAP may require more reporting and notifications, please take the time to read our updated ERAP webpage and its associated guides.