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SAFETY INFORMATION FOR USERS OF PROPANE GAS
Propane is flammable and can cause fires and explosions. In
its natural state, propane is odorless and colorless. You may
not know all the following safety precautions which can protect
both you and your family from an accident. Read them care-
fully now, then review them point by point with the members
of your household. Someday when there may not be a minute
to lose, everyone’s safety will depend on knowing exactly what
to do. If, after reading the following information, you feel you
still need more information, please contact your gas supplier.
PROPANE GAS WARNING ODOR
If a gas leak happens, you should be able to smell the gas
because of the odorant put in the Propane Gas. That’s your
signal to go into immediate action!
•
Do not operate electric switches, light matches, or your phone.
Do not do anything that could ignite the gas.
• Get everyone out of the building, vehicle, trailer, or area. Do
that IMMEDIATELY.
• Close all gas tank or cylinder supply valves.
• Propane Gas is heavier than air and may settle in low areas
such as basements. When you have reason to suspect a gas
leak, keep out of basements and other low areas. Stay out until
firefighters declare them to be safe.
• Use your neighbor’s phone and call a trained Propane Gas
service person and the fire department. Even though you may
not continue to smell gas, do not turn on the gas again. Do not
re-enter the building, vehicle, trailer, or area.
•
Finally, let the service technician and fire department check for
escaped gas. Have them air out the area before you return.
Properly trained Propane Gas service people should repair the
leak, then check and relight the gas appliance for you.
NO ODOR DETECTED - ODOR FADE
Some people cannot smell the odor of the chemical put into the
gas. You must find out if you can smell the odorant in propane.
Smoking can decrease your ability to smell. Being around an odor
for a time can affect your sensitivity or ability to detect that odor.
Sometimes other odors in the area mask the gas odor. People may
not smell the gas odor or their minds are on something else. Thinking
about smelling a gas odor can make it easier to smell.
The odorant in Propane Gas is colorless, and it can fade under
some circumstances.
For example, if there is an underground
leak, the movement of the gas through soil can filter the odorant.
Odorants in Propane Gas also are subject to oxidation. This fading
can occur if there is rust inside the storage tank or in iron gas pipes.
The odorant in escaped gas can adsorb or absorb onto or into
walls, masonry and other materials and fabrics in a room. That will
take some of the odorant out of the gas, reducing its odor intensity.
Propane Gas may stratify in a closed area, and the odor intensity
could vary at different levels. Because it is heavier than air, there may
be more odor at lower levels. Always be sensitive to the slightest gas
odor. If you detect any odor, treat it as a serious leak. Immediately
go into action as instructed earlier.
SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER
•
Learn to recognize the odor of Propane Gas.
Your local
Propane Gas Dealer can give you a “Scratch and Sniff” pam
-
phlet. Use it to find out what the propane odor smells like. If
you suspect that your Propane Gas has a weak or abnormal
odor, call your Propane Gas Dealer.
•
If you are not qualified, do not light pilot lights, perform service,
or make adjustments to appliances on the Propane Gas system.
If you are qualified, consciously think about the odor of Propane
Gas prior to and while lighting pilot lights or performing service
or making adjustments.
•
Sometimes a basement or a closed-up house has a musty
smell that can cover up the Propane Gas odor. Do not try to
light pilot lights, perform service, or make adjustments in an
area where the conditions are such that you may not detect
the odor if there has been a leak of Propane Gas.
•
Odors fade, due to oxidation by rust or adsorption on walls of
new cylinders and tanks. Therefore, people should be particu-
larly alert and careful when new tanks or cylinders are placed
in service. Odor fade can occur in new tanks, or reinstalled
old tanks, if they are filled and allowed to set too long before
refilling. Cylinders and tanks which have been out of service
for a time may develop internal rust which will cause odor fade.
If such conditions are suspected to exist, a periodic sniff test
of the gas is advisable.
If you have any question about the
gas odor, call your Propane Gas Dealer. A periodic sniff
test of the Propane Gas is a good safety measure under
any condition.
•
If, at any time, you do not smell the Propane Gas odorant and
you think you should, assume you have a leak. Then take the
same immediate action recommended above for the occasion
when you do detect the odorized Propane Gas.
•
If you experience a complete “gas out,” (the container is under
no vapor pressure), turn the tank valve off immediately. If the
container valve is left on, the container may draw in some air
through openings such as pilot light orifices. If this occurs, some
new internal rusting could occur. If the valve is left open, then
treat the container as a new tank. Always be sure your con-
tainer is under vapor pressure by turning it off at the container
before it goes completely empty or having it refilled before it is
completely empty.
