Natural Gas Safety
Whether you are at home, at work, or in a public place, it is likely that you are in an area served by natural gas. Natural gas pipelines quietly and efficiently transport natural gas every day to residential homes and businesses.
Just like with other forms of energy, natural gas must be handled with proper care. Despite the industry’s excellent safety record, a gas leak can occur at any time and potentially cause a hazardous and dangerous situation.
Many gas pipelines are underground in public areas. These areas are marked off with lines to show an approximate location of the pipeline, however, this line will not indicate its depth. These markers will also display the pipeline’s operator and telephone number where the operator can be contacted in case of an emergency.
It is important to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of natural gas and prepare yourself to act quickly in the event of an emergency.
A gas leak can be often recognized by three of the senses, smell, sight, and sound.
Smell – Natural gas is colorless and odorless. However, it has a very distinct, and pungent odor. Similar to rotten eggs.
Sight – You may see a white cloud, mist, fog or bubbles in standing water or blowing dust. You may also see vegetation that appears to be dead for no apparent reason.
Sound – Hearing a roaring, hissing or whistling noise, could also be a sign of a gas leak.
If you recognize any of these, move to a safe place and call 911 immediately.
Do not smoke or operate electrical switches or appliances, as this can cause an explosion. Most importantly, do not assume that someone else will report the condition. Provide an exact location to where the gas leak is when reporting to the police.
For more information on gas leaks and gas safety, please visit https://www.nationalgridus.com/Long-Island-NY-Business/Natural-Gas-Safety/
Written by: Amanda Haase