The most important changes from the 2016 edition to the 2020 edition are listed based on the colour of their section in the guidebook:
White pages
For these pages, we:
- reviewed the guidebook and changed these sections to make them easier to read and understand:
- Introduction to Green Tables
- Protective Actions
- Background on Table 1 - Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances
- How to use Table 1- Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances
- User’s Guide
- Protective Clothing
- Fire and Spill Control
- Criminal or Terrorist Use of Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agents
- added a new decontamination section to describe basic contamination theory and proper decontamination techniques.
- reworked the BLEVE section into the BLEVE and Heat Induced Tear section. This section now shows the cause and hazards of BLEVEs and Heat Induced Tears.
- added:
- lithium battery label and marking, and gasoline placard to the Table of Markings, Labels, and Placards.
- new terms and their definitions to the Glossary:
- adsorbed gas
- boil over
- flooding quantities
- high expansion foam
- organic peroxide
- refrigerated liquefied gas
- basic information on Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in the Criminal or Terrorist Use of Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agents section.
- a top view illustration of the TC117/DOT117 to the Rail Car Identification Chart.
- illustration of an Intermodal Freight Container to the Road Trailer Identification Chart
- improved the illustrations in the Rail Car and Road Trailer Identification Charts.
Yellow and Blue pages
For these pages, we:
- removed the UN numbers for Chemical Warfare Agents and moved them to the beginning of the yellow pages and Table 1. They’re still in alphabetical order in the blue pages.
- added fifteen new materials (UN3535 to UN3549) listed in the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (up to the 21st revised edition).
- deleted out of date materials based on the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and North American regulations.
- re-evaluated the polymerization hazard criteria for some high-risk materials, and added the polymerization marking (P) to 13 materials:
- UN1051
- UN1099
- UN1100
- UN1129
- UN1275
- UN1988
- UN1989
- UN2048
- UN2480
- UN2482
- UN2483
- UN2485
- UN2486
- re-analyzed the chemical properties of many materials to make sure that they’re assigned to the appropriate Orange Guide. Also moved thirty-four materials to a different Orange Guide:
- UN1006 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN1046 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN1056 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN1065 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN1066 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN1112 (Guide 140 to 128)
- UN1199 (Guide 132 to 153)
- UN1450 (Guide 141 to 140)
- UN1494 (Guide 141 to 140)
- UN1500 (Guide 140 to 141)
- UN1649 (Guide 131 to 152)
- UN1802 (Guide 140 to 157)
- UN1848 (Guide 132 to 153)
- UN1865 (Guide 131 to 128)
- UN1872 (Guide 141 to 140)
- UN1928 (Guide 135 to 138)
- UN1990 (Guide 129 to 171)
- UN1994 (Guide 131 to 136)
- UN2036 (Guide 121 to 120)
- UN2209 (Guide 132 to 153)
- UN2211 (Guide 133 to 171)
- UN2381 (Guide 130 to 131)
- UN2438 (Guide 132 to 131)
- UN2721 (Guide 141 to 140)
- UN2806 (Guide 138 to 139)
- UN2983 (Guide 129 to 131)
- UN3084 (Guide 140 to 157)
- UN3093 (Guide 140 to 157)
- UN3257 (Guide 128 to 171)
- UN3304 (Guide 123 to 125)
- UN3308 (Guide 123 to 125)
- UN3379 (Guide 128 to 113)
- UN3380 (Guide 133 to 113)
- UN3463 (Guide 132 to 153)
Orange pages
For these pages, we:
- added an introduction called “How to use the Orange Guides”. This new section explains the 4 parts of an Orange Guide. In this section, the terms “evacuate” and “isolate” are defined.
- merged Guide 121 with Guide 120. Guide 121 now states: “Page intentionally left blank”. Products that referred to Guide 121, now refer to Guide 120.
- had the Orange Guides for radioactive materials (Guide 161 to Guide 166) re-evaluated for technical accuracy by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
- had the Orange Guide for infectious substances (Guide 158) validated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
- moved the safety distances that were in the Public Safety section to the Evacuation section. Now all safety distances in an Orange Guide fall under the same heading.
- added safety distances for ammonium nitrate on fire to Guide 140.
- increased safety distances for materials on fire in Guide 114 from 500 m (1/3 mile) to 800 m (1/2 mile). This was based on consultations with stakeholder subject matter experts.
- added CAUTION sentences for specific compounds. These sentences:
- describe inhalation toxicity concerns due to hydrogen sulphide gas in petroleum crude oil:
- in Guide 128
- describe proper firefighting and spill remediation techniques for liquefied natural gas (LNG):
- in Guide 115
- describe the explosive nature, even in the absence of air, of:
- acetylene in Guide 116
- ethylene oxide in Guide 119
- describe the hazards of an invisible flame for:
- ethanol in Guide 127
- methanol in Guide 131
- carbon monoxide in Guide 168
- describe the toxicity of pentaborane:
- in Guide 135
- describe the flammability hazards of some aerosols:
- in Guide 126
- describe inhalation toxicity concerns due to hydrogen sulphide gas in petroleum crude oil:
- reviewed the Orange Guides with the help of instructors from the United States National Fire Academy (NFA).
- Some sentences were added, deleted, or changed to give the best available advice and use consistent and clear language.
- separated the references to highlighted and non-highlighted materials in the Evacuation section and simplified the language to make it easier to understand.
Green pages
For these pages, we:
- revised the distances in Table 1 and Table 3.
- organized Table 3 by ID number (numerical order of material) instead of alphabetical order.
- revised “How to use Table 2” to clearly explain that the information in Table 2 is for information purposes only. Table 2 doesn’t change the suggested response strategies listed in the related Orange Guide, Table 1 or Table 3.
- added Table 3 container capacities in the section called “How to use Table 3”.
- added a visual tab in the green page border to make it easier to see the differences between Table 1, 2 and 3. The tables are all still the same green color but the side margins now include a series of white boxes that go down the page with the words Table 1, Table 2, or Table 3.
- added more Toxic Inhalation Hazard (Poison Inhalation Hazard in the U.S.) materials in Table 1 and Water-Reactive Materials in Table 2:
- UN1390 to Table 1 and Table 2
- UN2965 to Table 1 and Table 2
- UN3539 to Table 1