What is the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG)?

The Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) serves as a crucial resource for first responders in hazardous material incidents. It provides critical information that helps responders identify the hazards associated with specific materials, enabling them to assess the risks involved in a given situation. This identification process is essential for determining the appropriate response actions to take to ensure safety for the public, responders, and the environment. The ERG presents guidelines for managing emergencies that involve hazardous materials, including what protective measures to adopt and the necessary actions to contain or mitigate the hazards.

While other options mention legal procedures, transportation guidelines, or reports on past incidents, they do not align with the primary function of the ERG, which focuses specifically on offering immediate and actionable guidance for emergency situations involving hazardous materials.