How to read the Emergency Response Guidebook page colors and meanings.

Learn how to effectively reference the ERG in a hazardous material incident.

As an emergency responder, it’s crucial to understand how to use the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) before an incident ever happens. This book is your go-to manual for determining how to quickly deal with hazardous materials incidents and developing emergency plans and evacuation procedures.

Let’s review how to read and interpret the ERG colors so you know how to use it when it counts the most.

ERG colors used in the Emergency Response Guide.

The Emergency Response Guide is color-coded for efficiency. To more efficiently use the guidebook, you’ll need to learn the ERG sections by color. You’ll see these colors used:

• White
• Yellow
• Blue
• Orange
• Green

Learning the ERG colors will make it easier for you to learn and remember the content.

What are the ERG sections by color?

In the presence of a hazardous spill involving the transportation of dangerous goods, you’ll need to be able to reference the ERG and understand how to best respond. The guidebook is divided into five color-coded sections to help you respond quickly. Learn the Emergency Response Guidebook colors meaning:

• White: This section shares general information on placards, rail cars, pipelines, and trailer identification. It also breaks down the classification of all hazardous materials.
• Yellow: The yellow section helps you identify the specific chemicals in the incident. Each hazardous material has a 4-digit United Nations (UN) number.
• Blue: The blue section identifies chemicals in alphabetical order — you’ll use this section to identify a chemical if you can’t easily find it in the yellow section.
• Orange: Once you gather information from the previous sections, you’ll refer to this orange section to understand how to deal with the particular chemical. This section includes information about personal protective equipment (PPE), evacuation procedures, first aid, and spill and fire control measures.
• Green: This section contains information regarding inhalation hazards and water reactivity for small and large spills.

Emergency Response Guidebook colors meaning with notations.

After you learn the ERG book page colors and meanings, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with how to read the placards at spills. Hazard materials are required to have a diamond-shaped placard or label during transportation. The ERG can decode these markers for you. You’ll notice that placards vary in a few ways. Each variation helps you identify the material.

First, the diamond-shaped placards are color-coded. In the white pages of the ERG, you can learn what each color (or combination of colors) means. For example, a blue placard indicates the material is dangerous when wet. A red one means it is flammable or combustible. It’s a good idea to be familiar with this color coding.

Hazardous materials placards will also have different symbols at the top. The symbols used are meant to be easy to interpret, but it’s good to go over their meanings in the white pages so you can know what the less obvious symbols mean. A skull and crossbones symbol, for example, indicates a poisonous substance, but you might not be so familiar with the meaning of a cylinder symbol on the placard. A cylinder indicates a non-flammable gas.

You’ll also notice numbers on the placards. The four-digit UN number identifies the material specifically. The UN numbers are located in the yellow section of the ERG. The number at the bottom of the diamond-shaped placard designates the hazard class of the compound.

How often is the Emergency Response Guidebook updated?

Every four years, the U.S. Department of Transportation updates the ERG. Depending on your job, you may need to take a refresher course or sign documents electronically stating that you’ve reviewed any new information. Staying on top of current documents can help you feel informed and prepared on the scene, whatever the incident may bring.

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