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SAFETY INFORMATION FOR USERS OF LP GAS
Propane (LP-Gas) is ammable and can cause res and explo-
sions. 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 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, 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.
• 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 reghters
declare them to be safe.
• Use your neighbor’s phone and call a trained LP-Gas service
person and the re 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 re department 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 the odor of the chemical put into the
gas. You must nd 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 lter 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. 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 LP-Gas. Your local LP-Gas
Dealer can give you a “Scratch and Sniff” pamphlet. Use it to
nd 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 qualied, do not light pilot lights, perform service,
or make adjustments to appliances on the LP-Gas system. If
you are qualied, 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.
• 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 lled and allowed to set too long before
relling. 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. Aperiodic 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 immediately. If the
container valve is left on, the container may draw in some air
through openings such as pilot light orices. 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 relled before it is
completely empty.