There were 464 incidents involving dangerous goods—307 releases and 157 anticipated releases—that required a report to Transport Canada in 2018.
The information comes from the Dangerous Goods Accident Information System, which has been updated with 2018 data. The 13 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, initiating event and monthly distribution.
Chart 1
Dangerous goods reportable incidents by month and mode in Canada, 2018
Most incidents occur on roads or in facilities
Over half (56.5%) of the incidents in 2018 occurred on roads, while incidents in facilities such as terminals and warehouses accounted for over one-third (36.6%).
Nearly half (48.5% or 225) of the total number of reportable dangerous goods incidents occurred in Alberta, and were likely related to oil and gas industry activities in the province. The second highest number of reportable incidents was in Ontario (67), followed by Saskatchewan (54), British Columbia (52) and Quebec (38).
Class of good and initiating events
Most (95.2%) incidents in 2018 involved five dangerous good classes: Class 3 flammable liquids (54.2%), Class 2 gases (18.6%), Class 8 corrosives (16.5%), Class 5 oxidizing substances and organic peroxides (3.2%) and Class 9 miscellaneous products, substances or organisms (2.7%).
The top three initiating events for dangerous goods incidents were as follows in 2018: loss of control (16.8%), defective fittings, valves, dome covers (12.1%) and improper handling (11.9%).
In 2018, 246 021 litres of petroleum product were released in 89 reportable incidents involving petroleum where a release occurred. Most (77.9%) of this volume was released through 79 incidents related to the commodity UN1267 - petroleum (sweet) crude oil.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality, contact Transport Canada (TC.TDGIncidents-IncidentsTMD.TC@tc.gc.ca).