Dangerous goods incidents in Canada
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Released: 2017-02-03
There were 334 incidents involving dangerous goods that required a report to Transport Canada in 2015, down 13.2% from 2014 and almost 40 fewer reportable incidents than the 10-year average dating back to 2006.
The information comes from the Dangerous Goods Accident Information System, which has been updated with 2015 data. The 10 tables show the annual number of dangerous goods incidents in Canada by province and territory as well as by mode of transportation, class of dangerous good, package type and initiating events.
Chart 1
Dangerous good reportable incidents by type in Canada
Most incidents in facilities, not in transit
Over two-thirds (69.8%) of the incidents in 2015 occurred in facilities such as terminals or warehouses, while road incidents accounted for just over one-quarter (26.3%).
Almost two-thirds (64.7%) of the total number of reportable dangerous goods incidents were reported in Alberta, again primarily in facilities, and likely related to the province's oil and gas industry activities. However, these 216 incidents in Alberta represented 72 fewer than in 2014. Ontario had the second highest number of reportable incidents in 2015 with 32.
Class of good and initiating events
Most (93.9%) incidents involved four dangerous good classes in 2015, including Class 3 Flammable and Combustible Liquids (60.7%), Class 8 Corrosives (18.2%), Class 2 Gases (7.6%) and Class 4 Flammable Solids (7.4%).
In 2015, the top three initiating events for dangerous goods incidents were as follows: Improper loading, unloading, handling (26.2%), Overfill (21.2%) and Defective fittings, valves, dome covers (19.6%). These have been the top three initiating events since 2012.
Note to readers
The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 defines nine classes of such goods.
For instance, Class 3 consists of flammable and combustible liquids. Prescriptions for reportable incidents are found in Part 8 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDG Regulations), which required the reporting of incidents involving spills of 200 litres or more.
Thresholds for reporting dangerous goods incidents have changed based on amendments to Part 8 of the TDG Regulations, which came into force on December 1, 2016. This will impact future data releases. For more information on current reporting requirements for each class, please visit Transport Canada's website.
Under the TDG Regulations, Transport Canada is mandated to collect specific information on dangerous goods reportable incidents in Canada. If the incident meets the reporting requirements, then the employer of the person who had possession of the dangerous goods at the time of the incident, or the person if self-employed, has 30 days to file a report.
Some data for 2012 to 2014 have been revised.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).
To enquire about the data and data quality of this release, contact Larry McKeown (613-883-1736; larry.mckeown@canada.ca), Environment, Energy and Transportation Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.
To enquire about the concepts and methods of this release, contact Transport Canada (TC.TDGStakeholderInformation-InformationsintervenantsTMD.TC@tc.gc.ca).
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