Thanks to a joint effort by the National Library of Medicine and the US Department of Transportation (DOT), emergency personnel responding to hazardous waste transportation accidents can now use NLM’s Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) to consult the Emergency Response Guidebook 2008 (ERG2008).

WISER runs on stand-alone applications for Pocket PCs, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and Windows-based laptop computers, and fulfills a common request from emergency responders for an electronic-based ERG. DOT is also distributing nearly 1.75 million print copies of the ERG.

WISER was developed by the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) to enable first responders to customize their PDAs for easy navigation and quick access to key information. The Web version WebWiser is also available.

More information on the ERG2008 is available from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) site, or by calling 202.366.4900. Print copies of the ERG are also available commercially through the US Government Printing Office Bookstore and other commercial vendors.