Pick-up truck owners with plastic box liners are warned they can start a fire if they fill gas containers in the back of their trucks.
Static electricity build up from the two surfaces rubbing together can cause a spark and an explosion when the spark hits the fuel.
Both the American companies Chevron U.S.A. and Ford Motor Company have issued warnings on the safety hazards of filling gasoline cans in the back of pick-up trucks equipped with plastic liners.
“There have been several fires recently in service stations related to customers improperly filling metal gasoline cans. In most cases, the filling occurred with the cans sitting on plastic bed liners of pick-up trucks,” said the bulletin forwarded from Chevron Canada in Vancouver.
Read Also
China’s grain imports have slumped big-time
China purchased just over 20 million tonnes of wheat, corn, barley and sorghum last year, that is well below the 60 million tonnes purchased in 2021-22.
“The reported incidents usually occurred on a very dry day (either hot or cold) when static charges accumulate,” the bulletin said.
“You probably notice this in winter months when you reach for a door knob and a static charge jumps the gap. If the nozzle is not held in contact with the can during filling, a static charge can build up on the surface of the liquid and the can. When the customer moves the nozzle, a static spark can jump from the can to the nozzle, igniting the flammable vapors at the outlet of the can.”
Kirsty Johnstone, with Chevron Canada’s marketing branch, said some incidents have been reported in Canada. Recently a fire at one of Chevron’s Canadian stations was started by a woman sliding across the vehicle seat in her ski suit and touching her partner outside the vehicle.
Grant Henneberg, of Alberta Labor, said most explosions are prevented at gas stations because the vehicle is grounded, the pump’s engines are grounded and a filament wire runs up the hose preventing an electrical static build up.
The problem of static from plastic is not new. A 1969 German study showed some types of plastic are more prone to build up of electrical discharge than others. The paper suggested fuel tanks be made from materials that “do not favor accumulation of electrostatic charges.”
Farm safety departments in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario had no reports of farm injuries from explosions when filling fuel cans. A sticker on new trucks warns against filling gas containers while they are in the truck box.
The Chevron bulletin listed these precautions to avoid the hazard.
- Place the container on the ground a safe distance from the vehicle and other customers before filling.
- Keep the metal part of the nozzle in contact with the can during filling.
- Never use latch-open devices to fill portable containers.
- Use only containers approved for gasoline.
