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SAFETY INFORMATION FOR USERS OF LP-GAS
Propane (LP-Gas) is a flammable gas which can cause fires and explosions. In its natural state, propane is odorless and col
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orless. You may not know all the following safety precautions which can protect both you and your family from an accident.
Read them carefully 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.
LP-GAS WARNING ODOR
If a gas leak happens, you should be able to smell the gas because of the odorant put in the LP-Gas.
That's your signal to go into immediate action!
• Do not operate electric switches, light matches, use 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.
• LP-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 LP-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 man and firefighters check for escaped gas. Have them air out the area before you return. Properly trained
LP-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 well. 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 sen
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sitivity 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 LP-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 LP-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.
LP-Gas may stratify in a closed area, and the odor intensity could vary at different levels. Since 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 LP-gas.
Your local LP-Gas Dealer can give you a "Scratch and Sniff" pamphlet. Use it to find out
what the propane odor smells like. If you suspect that your LP-Gas has a weak or abnormal odor, call your LP-Gas Dealer.
• If you are not qualified, do not light pilot lights, perform service, or make adjustments to appliances on the LP-Gas system. If you are
qualified, consciously think about the odor of LP-Gas prior to and while lighting pilot lights or performing service or making adjust
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ments.
• Sometimes a basement or a closed-up house has a musty smell that can cover up the LP-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 LP-Gas.
• Odor fade, due to oxidation by rust or adsorption on walls of new cylinders and tanks, is possible. Therefore, people should be
particularly 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 LP-gas dealer. A periodic sniff test of the LP-gas is a good safety
measure under any condition.
• If, at any time, you do not smell the LP-Gas odorant and you think you should, assume you have a leak. Then take the same im
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mediate action recommended above for the occasion when you do detect the odorized LP-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 container 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.
