Shell Warns Mobile users

[Abdul-Raouf]

The Shell Oil Company recently issued a warning after three incidents in which mobile phones (cell phones) ignited fumes during fueling operations

In the first case, the phone was placed on the car's trunk lid during fueling; it rang and the ensuing fire destroyed the car and the gasoline pump.

In the second, an individualsuffered severe burns to their face when fumes ignited as they answered a call while refueling their car.

And in the third,an individual suffered burns to the thigh and groin as fumes ignited when the phone, which was in their pocket, rang while they were fueling their car.

You should know that:
Mobile Phones can ignite fuel or fumes

Mobile phones that light up when switched on or when they ring, release enough energy to provide a spark for ignition

Mobile phones should not be used in filling stations, or when fueling lawn mowers, boat! , Etc.

Mobile phones should not be used, or should be turned off, around other materials that generate flammable or explosive fumes or dust, (I.e. Solvents, chemicals, gases, grain dust, etc.)

To sum it up, here are the: Four Rules for Safe Refueling

1) Turn off engine
2) Don't smoke
3) Don't use your cell phone - leave it inside the vehicle or turn it off
4) Don't re-enter your vehicle during fueling


1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women.
2) Almost all cases involved the person getting back in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping gas. When finished, they went back to pull the nozzle out and the fire started, as a result of static.
3) Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
4) Most men never get back in their vehicle until completely finished. This is why they are seldom involved in these types of fires.
5) Don't ever use cell phones when pumping gas.
6) It is the vapors that come out of the gas that cause the fire, when connected with static charges.
7) There were 29 fires where the vehicle was re-entered and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a variety of makes and models. Some resulted in extensive damage to the vehicle, to the station, and to the customer.
8) Seventeen fires occurred before, during or immediately after the gas cap was removed and before fueling began.

[syilla]

MashaAllah....i think this is the first ever.

From the safety course that i went too...there is never such cases (because of mobile phone)

Do you know that even your long sleeves blouse or shirt can ignite flame because of the electrostatic discharge.

[syilla]

All the Army Safety Office was alerted by Safety folks from the Army Air
Force Exchange Service (AAFES) regarding the reported incidence of several
flash fires during the past few weeks from apparent static electricity
discharges while customer were fueling. We have also determined that there
is an increased incidence Nation- wide. The Petroleum Equipment Institute
at http://www.pei.org reports 36 such fires in the past 5 month period -
all of which were attributed to static discharge and about half of which
involved the motorist re-entering the vehicle at some point during the
refueling process. PEI is equally concerned that the cause of the remaining
static electricity fires is not known at this time. PEI is requesting that
activities report these incidences to their Web-site in order to assist
their analysis. Included below is the text of a message that appears on the
-E- web-site.

The Army Safety Office will raise this issue to OSD Safety immediately
because of the DOD-wide implications.

ACTION Request that addressees report vehicle fueling fires to the PEI
website and to the Army Safety Office [email protected]

We will keep you advised of future developments. Your assistance in this
matter is appreciated, w/r Ed

Edwin C. Lowe
Duty - Honor - Country
Office of the Director of Army Safety
PH: 703 601-2406
Fax: 703 601-2417
EMAIL [email protected]

* Customers re-entering their vehicles during refueling
An electrostatic charge is generated through friction between clothing and
the car seat to such an extent that electrostatic discharges to the vehicle
body or to the filling nozzle are possible, especially if the motorist is
wearing rubber-soled shoes. A Midwestern oil company warned of this hazard
in a November 24, 1999, memo to its dealers, sellers and jobbers stating
that

". . .a flash fire can result from this discharge if sufficient
flammable vapors are present. Therefore, customers should
be discouraged from re-entering their vehicles while fueling
is underway."

About half of the fires that have been reported to PEI involved the motorist
re-entering the vehicle at some point during the refueling process.
Unfortunately, we don't have any definitive answers. We are willing,
however, to collect information on similar incidents so the industry can get
a better handle on the cause(s) of the problem. If you are aware of
refueling fires presumably caused by static electricity, we would like to
know about them. Include as much detail as possible to help us understand
what happened. Please include the make, model and year of the vehicle, the
type of fuel used, type of tires and driveway finish, customer action while
refueling, and any other information that you believe would be useful.
The information we receive in response to this request will be summarized
and made available, upon request, to TulsaLetter readers. No oil company or
PEI member names will be divulged. All responses will be confidential.
Please direct your correspondence or telephone responses on this issue to
Bob Renkes at PEI.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yousef [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2000 4:07 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [SAFETY] Burn case

source

[syilla]

1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women.

This is because the material of clothing they used. Talk about fashion that hazardous!!

[syilla]

snopes

[BanGuLLy]

Good post