Weekly Safety Meeting

For The Construction Industry

WORKING WITH GASOLINE

Gasoline is easily ignited and burns well, which makes it an excellent fuel; it is used every day by millions of people in and out of the workplace. But because gasoline is so common, all too often people take for granted the hazards it creates. Not only is it extremely flammable and has the potential to create an explosive atmosphere, but exposure to gasoline and its vapors can also cause serious health issues.
Gasoline vapors are heavier than air and may travel a significant distance to a source of ignition. Don't use or store gasoline near anything that:

• a) runs on electricity, oil or natural gas
• b) contains a pilot light
• c) can produce a spark.
  The vapors can ignite and travel back to the container in which the flammable liquid is stored.
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that fires can—and do—spontaneously ignite if you try to fill portable gasoline containers in either the back of a pickup truck that has a plastic bed liner or in a car with a carpeted surface. Such fires result from the buildup of static electricity. The problem is that the flowing gasoline can generate a static charge and the insulating effect of the bed liner or carpet prevents the charge from dissipating to ground. The static charge may cause a spark and ignite the gasoline.
  To fill gas cans safely:

1. Avoid the hazardous practice of leaving portable gasoline containers in pickup trucks or cars when refueling. Instead, before filling, remove the containers from the vehicle and place them on the ground at a safe distance from the vehicle.
2. Touch the container with the gas dispenser nozzle before removing the container lid (thus providing a path to dissipate static charge to ground).
3. Keep the nozzle in contact with the container inlet when filling (this action dissipates static charge created by the flow of gasoline).
   Here are some additional safety tips:
4. When you transfer gasoline or other flammable liquids from a large container to a smaller container, you must bond and ground the two containers to prevent static electricity from creating a spark.
5. When transferring gasoline: never smoke and always shut off any spark-producing or excessively hot equipment in the area.
6. Let machines cool down before refueling.

When working with gasoline, have a fire extinguisher marked for Class B fires nearby and know how to use it!

SAFETY REMINDER

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