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TO REPORT A GAS LEAK or other emergency:
Call 911 immediately. |
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Mail payments to:
Pinedale Natural Gas
PO Box 649
Pinedale, WY 82941-0649
Shipping & office address:
Pinedale Natural Gas
108 N. Jackson Street
Pinedale, WY 82941-0649
307-367-4427
telephone (24 hours)
307-367-4416
fax (24 hours)
Email Pinedale Natural Gas
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While natural gas is
considered the safest and cleanest fossil fuel for domestic and industrial use,
there are inherent dangers to remember.
Natural gas is
non-toxic (non-poisonous), but can cause death by suffocation if the gas
displaces the air in a confined space. A person will experience the following effects as gas concentration
increases:
- At 25 to 30% gas in air, the oxygen deficiency can cause ringing ears, euphoria, and unexplained behavioral changes.
- At 50% gas-air mixture, a person taking in a few breaths will be incapacitated and unable to self-rescue.
- At 75% gas, a person is immediately incapacitated and death will occur in a matter of minutes.
 Natural gas is
always lighter than air, and will rise in a room if allowed to escape from a
burner or leaking fitting. On the
contrary, propane is heavier than air and will settle in a basement or other low
level.
Incomplete
combustion can occur when the gas mixture is richer than 10%. When this occurs, there is not
enough oxygen to completely oxidize all the carbon to carbon dioxide. Some of the remaining carbon reacts to
form the incomplete, less stable compound known as carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is toxic (poisonous) and
can cause physical illness and death when inhaled under certain conditions. It is lighter than air and mixes very
thoroughly.
If not contained,
natural gas combustion can be hazardous. Uncontrolled combustion causes a very sharp pressure shock wave through a
gas / air mixture. If this type of
combustion is in an unconfined space (such as in the open atmosphere), the
result is a flash fire. If in a confined space, the result is
usually an explosion.
Odorization of natural gas.
Natural gas is odorless, colorless, and tasteless.
PNG, like most gas
utilities, adds mercaptan odorants to all gas. These odorants are commercial blends of
sulfur compounds with a distinctive "rotten egg" smell.
The US Department of
Transportation requires that most utility gas is odorized, such that a person
with a normal sense of smell can detect and identify the gas odor at 1% of gas
in air. This is about 1/5th the
Lower Flammable Limit.
If
you smell any odor or hear any noise (other than a soft whoosh-whoosh)
around your meter, get safely away and call PNG immediately at
367-4427.
- Don't turn on a light.
- Don't switch on any electrical appliance.
- Don't light a match.
- Don't use your phone.
- Alert others in the house and leave immediately.
- Call PNG from a neighbor's house or mobile phone outside.
- Give us your location, and stay there to let us in and give us the facts.
Most gas leaks are
harmless. Don't try to fix a leak,
work on a gas meter or regulator, or fight a gas fire - get safely away and call PNG
immediately.
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