Static Electricity

Rare Occurrence or Common Hazard?

Static Electricity & Fire Hazards

Rare or Freak Accident?

The photo before shows the results of a static electricity discharge at a Chevron gasoline station in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (January, 2003)

It started from static electricity. The customer, a teenage girl, started pumping gasoline using the automatic filler, and got back in the vehicle. When the pump clicked off, she got back out of the car and didn't ground herself. She said she saw a blue flame jump from her hand to the pump nozzle. The photos show the damage to the vehicle and nearby equipment. The girl was not injured.

Cold, dry weather can produce the ideal conditions for a static discharge.

Safe Refueling and Fuel Handling Guidelines

Here are some refueling and fuel safety guidelines that will help keep you and your family safe when refueling your vehicle or filling up gasoline storage containers:

Safe Refueling and Fuel Handling Guidelines

Turn off your vehicle engine while refueling. Put your vehicle in park and/or set the emergency brake. Disable or turn off any auxiliary sources of ignition such as a camper or trailer heater, cooking units, or pilot lights.Do not smoke, light matches or lighters while refueling at the pump or when using gasoline anywhere else.   

Safe Refueling and Fuel Handling Guidelines

Use only the refueling latch provided on the gasoline dispenser nozzle, – never jam the refueling latch on the nozzle open.Do not re-enter your vehicle during refueling.In the event a static-caused fire occurs when refueling, leave the nozzle in the fill pipe and back away from the vehicle. Notify the station attendant immediately.Do not over-fill or top-off your vehicle tank, which can cause gasoline spillage.

Potential Cell Phone Hazard

Combustible Gases + Cell Phones = ExplosionsTURN OFF CELL PHONES

BEFORE ENTERINGSITES WITH POTENTIALEXPLOSIVE MIXTURES

BACKGROUNDAn employee on an offshore drilling rig received second degree burns

when he answered his cell phone while working on a panel which contained an explosive mixture of gas. Similarly, a driver suffered burns when gasoline fumes ignited causing an explosion as he was talking on

his mobile phone while his vehicle was being fueled. Many mobile phone makers print cautions in their user handbooks that warn against

mobile phones in gas stations, fuel storage sites, and chemical factories.

Best Practices

•Read your instruction book. Mobile phone makers such as Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia print cautions in their user handbooks that warn against mobile phones in gas stations, fuel storage sites, and chemical factories.

•Turn off your mobile phone before entering any area with a potentially explosive atmosphere (For example: areas around degas wells; coal storage areas; fueling areas, such as gas stations; below deck on boats; fuel transfer storage facilities; chemical transfer and storage facilities; and areas where the air contains chemicals or particles, such as coal dust, grain, dust, or metal powders).

Do not transport or store flammable gas, liquid, or explosives in the same compartment of your vehicle that contains your mobile phone and its accessories.