DRIVING SAFE IN GHANA SERIES: Article No. 4. THE UNSEEN DANGERS AT THE PUMPS.
We Must Exercise Extreme Caution at the Pumps
He wasn't smoking, the car engine was turned off, and he wasn't using a cell phone either. But something terrible happened in November 1999, as a man filled his car's petrol tank at a filling station in the USA. It was something he, like most motorists, had no idea could happen. By simply touching the gasoline pump's nozzle sparked a fire and … Boom! I leave the rest to you to imagine. Folks, this tragic event could happen to you and me.
According to the National Fire Protection Association of the USA, an estimated 7,400 fires and explosions occurred at public service stations each year from 1994 through 1998. Of that number, nearly two-thirds involved vehicles.
Investigations concluded that the fires were most likely caused by something called Static Electricity. This kind of electricity is usually released with a surprising but harmless shock. Most people experience it when they touch a car door during dry, cold weather, or when they grab a doorknob after walking on carpet. You can also feel it when you pass your arm across a computer monitor, TV screen or even passing a plastic comb over your arm, after using it to comb your hair.
A mundane static shock, however, can turn tragic when it occurs near the opening to a car's fuel tank, where vapors can accumulate. Given the right conditions, the spark can be enough to ignite a fire. In the USA, research has concluded that 150 of such fires at filling stations were caused when the victims did the following. Here are the results:
1. Almost all victims had gotten back into their cars to wait for the pumping to finish. It was when they got out again and pulled the nozzle from the tank opening that the fires started as a result of static electricity igniting the vapors.
2. Most victims were wearing rubber-soled shoes.
3. There were 29 fires involving various makes and models of cars, where people had reentered the car and then had touched the nozzle during refueling.
4. 17 fires occurred before, during or immediately after someone had removed a fuel cap to begin fueling.
From the above results we can all conclude that these victims were accessing a self-service station. These are service stations were the vehicle owners fill their tanks themselves and then walk to the attendant to pay the bill. In Ghana, we do not have these kinds of services available because the pump attendants rather serve us. But this not withstanding, it could still happen to any of us vehicle owners, passengers and the attendants themselves.
I have personally seen warning stickers posted at a few petrol and gas filling stations, warning motorists not to smoke during refueling and not to leave the engine on. Some also paste warnings against the use of mobile phones but unfortunately, that’s all the warning can tell us. We are not told why this is so, because it is assumed we already know the answers.
I have not yet seen any such warnings about the hazards of static electricity during refueling. The only warning, in most cases, concerned people like the tro-tro drivers or their mates who come to fill portable containers at the pumps, because the run out on fuel. This is a very “normal” daily occurrence with commercial drivers in our cities and the pump attendants remind them to place the containers on the ground during refueling to avoid a fire. I think we must also be warned about how prolonged exposure to petrol and gasoline vapors can cause cancers, and the dangers of using cell phones at the pumps as well.
I also come across cars being refueled at these filling stations, with their engines running, because the lady or gentleman sitting in the passenger seat or the back seat needed to continue cooling off in the air conditioning while making a call on a mobile phone. Ironic, isn’t it? This is definitely a recipe for disaster or double jeopardy if I may put it that way. Many a times, you can tell that the pump attendants are reluctant on insisting that the rules be followed, in order not to attract the wrath of the so-called “oga” or the station manager himself. For me, the bottom line is that, failure to enforce the rules will expose all of us to this clear and present danger. If such fires could occur in the USA, then they can also occur right here in our beloved country Ghana, and so we must not wait for it to happen before we take the necessary precautions.
Fires started at filling stations by static electricity can easily be avoided. The goal is to avoid generating static electricity during the refueling process and to make sure any static buildup has been released before touching the pump nozzle or anything near the fuel-tank opening in the case of the pump attendants.
Following one simple rule should solve most of the problem. We must also avoid entering our vehicles while refueling, that way, you won't have a static buildup when you sit down in your car. This according to my research appears to be the leading cause of these fires. Women in particular, may fall prey to this grave danger, because they are more likely to get back into the car to fetch their purse from a handbag, or even to check on a child strapped in the back seat.
Even though people are the main problem, there is one contributing factor, which is the hold-open clip on service pump nozzles. These clips have a great potential for static electricity sparks.
However, static electricity isn't the only concern when it comes to refueling. My research has also revealed that there has also been some considerable debate and talk about the dangers of using cellular phones around petrol and gasoline pumps. It was reported in the early stages of this debate that a few European countries always had prohibited the use of cell phones and similar devices at service stations.
I once read about a case in the UK where an auto mechanic reportedly experienced a fire when his cell phone rang while he was working on a car's fuel system. Another one involved an instrument technician on an offshore oil platform who also had a similar experience. Whether an incident has or hasn't happened in Ghana before shouldn’t really be the main concern here. Rather, what we should be asking is, "Is there any risk in using cell phones while refueling at the filling station?" The answer for me is a big "YES" even though, experts attest, it's a remote possibility because there is no concrete evidence to suggest this. I have also read other articles which suggest that the risk is nowhere near as immediate as that of a number of other common, pump-side behaviors, such as smoking or leaving the engine running while refueling.
Experts have conceded that as to how cell phones could trigger an explosion is difficult to understand or prove. The claim is that the batteries used in the phones or the signals emitted by them can ignite petrol or diesel vapors. Cell-phone batteries, however, are the same voltage as automobile batteries (12VDC) but deliver far less current. The claim that a cell-phone ringer uses more than 100 volts for excitation doesn't hold up because cell phones don't have ringers, like regular telephones. Instead, they only produce audio tones that simulate the sound of a ringing telephone. There is also no conclusive evidence pointing to that of the signals cell phones emit.
Nevertheless, cell-phone manufacturers like Nokia and Ericsson have taken the risk very seriously. Nokia officials said they have been recommending for a long time that mobile phones be turned off while refueling a car. These warnings have been printed in the manufacturer's instructions. In any event, why not play it safe and leave your cell phone turned off when you visit a filling station? Are the potential benefits of that one cell phone call worth the risk no matter how slight it may be?
I would seize this opportunity to call on all concerned citizens and especially the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to lead a Nation wide push to put stickers on all service pumps to warn of the dangers of static electricity. I know a few filling stations already display such stickers, but this is not enough. Every one of us faces this danger every single day; you are either driving or you are a passenger in a vehicle, and that vehicle will at one point stop at a filling station. Therefore there is the need for a broader education for motorist on these eminent dangers and perhaps a requirement by law to enforce them.
Here are nine (9) refueling tips which I would like to share with you as I conclude this article. Motorist and pump attendants should ensure the following at the service pumps, no matter how inconvenient it may be because our safety should be regarded as very supreme in this case.
1. Motorists should always turn off their vehicle engines and radios before the refueling starts. Pump attendants should insist on this rule and also ensure that this is done to the letter, because they are the ones in charge at the service point.
2. Before pump attendants handle a pump for the first or last time, they should make sure they are free of static-electricity sparks, by simply touching a metal part of the vehicle, somewhere away from the fuel-tank opening and the nozzle. If they don't like getting shocked, some experts have suggested that they touch the metal with their knuckles, because fewer nerve endings are found there.
3. Motorists should not smoke or use lighters at the service pump. There should be large warning signs posted at all service stations to inform the public on these dangers.
4. Pump attendants should always pay attention to what they are doing because pumping fuel involves the transfer of a hazardous substance, so please don’t engage in other activities such as chatting with your fellow attendant or the client.
5. Motorists should not use electronic devices, such as cell phones, computers or portable radios while refueling. These warnings are already printed in the manufacturer's instruction manual.
6. Pump attendants should use only the refueling latch on the dispenser nozzle if there is one and should not jam the latch with an object to hold it open while counting money.
7. To avoid spills, motorists should not insist on topping off or overfilling the vehicle’s tank.
8. Pump attendants should leave the nozzle in the tank opening for a few more seconds to drain off before removing the nozzle after pumping fuel.
9. Pump attendants should remember that if a fire starts while refueling, they should not remove the nozzle from the vehicle or try to stop the flow of fuel. Get the stations fire extinguisher to put out the fire, or immediately leave the area and call for help.
