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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 odor
-
less and colorless. 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 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 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 adjustments.
• 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 immediate 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 im-
mediately. 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.
