Cellphone Explosions
Urban myth? Maybe yes, maybe no. But I'm not taking any chances.
Deborah Whistler
Editor
Will using a cellphone at a fuel island cause an explosion? There's lots of debate about that. If you go to Snopes.com - the destroyer of urban legends - it says:
Claim: Cellular phones have touched off explosions at gas stations. Status: False.
That's usually enough to get a journalist off a potential story. But I didn't trust the Snopes.com conclusion. Why? I was alerted to the hazard - not by Joe Blow Citizen passing on a chain e-mail - but from a very intelligent and respectable employee of a major oil company.
If he believes it, I'm gonna check it out.
The reason for the speculation about the warnings is that Shell Oil says it didn't issue the e-mail warning.
The bogus e-mail cited three examples of cellphone disasters. In one, the phone was supposedly placed on the car's trunk lid during fueling, it rang - and bang.
Next, a motorist pumping gas reportedly suffered severe burns to his face when he answered a call.
Last, a fellow purportedly suffered burns to the thigh and groin as fumes ignited when the phone - in his pants pocket - rang.
"What should you learn from this?" the e-mail asked. (Don't put your cellphone in your pocket at the pump, I would guess.)
Nope, says Snopes. They can't verify any of the above reports and conclude that it probably wasn't possible. They did, however, acknowledge that Nokia and Ericsson recommend that mobile phones be turned off while fueling.
Despite the warning of cellphone manufacturers, "What it is about a cellphone that could possibly trigger an explosion is difficult to fathom," Snopes says.
Here's what Ericsson says on their phones: "Turn off your mobile phone when in any area with a potentially explosive atmosphere. It is rare, but your mobile phone or its accessories could generate sparks. Sparks in such areas could cause an explosion or fire resulting in bodily injury or even death."
I checked with Shell. They hedged a bit: "We are aware that there have been reports of fires or small explosions, including some at service stations, when a mobile phone was present. We understand that, in most instances, there is still not conclusive evidence of the ignition source. We do not wish to speculate on possible linkage of any specific incident to mobile phone use.
"We consider the risk from use of mobile phones on a retail site, particularly in sections away from the refueling area and tank vents, to be low, but cannot be totally ruled out. In such circumstances we have adopted a precautionary approach."
People in other countries obviously think there is some room for concern. The UK and Australia both ban cellphone use in gas stations.
And some are taking a better-safe-than-sorry attitude here. On a recent trip I noticed a posted warning against cellphones at the pump at a remote station in Minot, N.D. But I've never seen one anywhere else.
One thing I can confirm: Cellphone or not, there are explosions at the pump. According to the National Fire Protection Assn., an estimated 7,400 fires and explosions occurred at public service stations each year from 1994 through 1998. That's more than 34,000 in five years. That's a lot of fires, and something's causing them.
Most likely, it's static electricity, authorities say.
Officials at the Petroleum Equipment Institute researched 150 such fires and found that almost all the victims got back into their vehicles to wait for the pumping to finish. Most wore rubber-soled shoes. It was when they got out again and pulled the nozzle from the tank opening that the fire started. You know, the zap you get when you touch metal on a hot, dry day. But at the pump, that zap can turn into a BOOM.
If a little static electricity can cause the big bang, I'm not taking any chances with my cellphone.
E-mail Deb at dwhistler@truckinginfo.com
