Each year, more and more dangerous goods are moved across Canada by road, rail, water and air. These shipments range from industrial chemicals to manufactured goods and, while indispensable to our modern way of life, they can pose a threat to public safety if not handled safely.
Transport Canada’s Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Directorate is the focal point for Canada’s national program to promote public safety during the transportation of dangerous goods.
In order to promote public safety, the TDG Directorate has enhanced its Safety Awareness Program and is reaching out to targeted audiences such as First Responders and communities/municipalities. The Safety Awareness Program attends various conferences either as presenters or as exhibitors in order to provide guidance material on the TDG program. TDG has also participated in many TRANSCAER events over the last two years to reach out to firefighters so they are aware of the services we can offer to them when an incident involving dangerous goods occurs.
The First Responder community is a very important audience of the Safety Awareness Program and we have prepared kits containing safety awareness material that were developed by the TDG Directorate that could be of help to firefighters. This kit contains a Dangerous Goods Safety Marks handout, which will help the First Responders to recognize the presence of dangerous goods at a fire site. We have also included a link to the TDG Newsletter which provides valuable information on dangerous goods. Finally, the TDG Directorate, in cooperation with the National Fire Protection Association, has published competency guidelines for responders to incidents of flammable liquids in transport, by rail, which would certainly be of interest to firefighters.
If you are interested in a presentation on the TDG program (Emergency Response Assistance Plan, Emergency Response Guidebook, CANUTEC, and tools and services we can provide), please don’t hesitate to contact us at: TC.TDGSafetyAwareness-SensibilisationalasecuriteduTMD.TC@tc.gc.ca.
This safety awareness kit includes:
Guides and advisories
- Lithium batteries – Be aware of what you buy
- Competency Guidelines for Responders to Incidents of Flammable Liquids in Transport, High-Hazard Flammable Trains
- Safety Advisory - Petroleum Crude Oil and Hydrogen Sulfide safety awareness
- You’re not alone! – Emergency response planning for rail incidents involving flammable liquids
- You’re not alone! – Practical tools for planning and responding to dangerous goods incidents
- Exercises on the emergency response to rail incidents involving flammable liquids
Handouts
- Transportation of Dangerous Goods – A Primer Handout
- Dangerous Goods Safety Marks Handout
- Roles and Responsibilities of Remedial Measures Specialists and TDG Inspectors Handout
- Shipping and importing devices containing lithium batteries
- CANUTEC - Canadian Transport Emergency Centre
Bulletins
Videos
- Video: Responding to Railcar Incidents Involving Flammable Liquids
- Video: Overview of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) 2020