Fuel Safety

At Shell we know the importance of the fuel that keeps your vehicle running. Most people just couldn't manage without it!

But gasoline and other fuels can also be extremely hazardous unless properly and safely handled. Accidents can happen. Accidents have happened. We don't want them to happen to you.

So please review our booklet, “Shell Helps with Gasoline Safety (PDF, 321 KB)”

Shell provides safety training for its Retailers and Attendants, and our stations are designed with safety in mind. Our safety procedures are verified by independent inspections at least once a year.

But we also need your help and your co-operation, if we are to prevent accidents which might involve other customers, our neighbours, our staff - or you.

Your part in accident prevention involves following a few simple rules whenever you're close to a gasoline pump or other source of fuel. The first two rules are also the law.

• Don't smoke within three metres (10 feet) of a gasoline pump.
• Don't leave your vehicle engine running when refueling.
• Don't jam the pump nozzle open when you're refueling at a self-serve.
• Don't allow children to play around pump islands - or to hold or activate the pump nozzle.
• Use only approved containers to carry fuel.
• Treat all fuels with respect. Store them in approved. containers, in clean, well-ventilated places. Handle them with great care and use them only as motor fuel.

Gasoline, the fuel most commonly used in car engines, is highly flammable.

But it's not the liquid itself that burns. Even at temperatures as low as -45ºC, gasoline gives off vapour - and it's the vapour that ignites. The vapour is also heavier than air, so it lingers at ground level and in enclosed spaces.

All it takes to create a violent explosion is enough oxygen and a source of ignition - a spark from a cigarette, a hot exhaust pipe, faulty wiring, or a wisp of vapour reaching an open flame such as a match or a pilot light. The explosion that follows can be incredibly devastating. Just a single cup of gasoline, when ignited, has the same explosive power as five sticks of dynamite.

Even aside from the explosion potential, gasoline is dangerous stuff. Spilled on the skin, it removes natural oils and fats. The skin dries and cracks and secondary infections may follow. Gasoline vapours can cause dizziness, vomiting, unconsciousness, even death, if inhaled in strong enough concentrations.

And it's still flammable, even when it's dried on clothing or shoes - or on the skin.

All of this means that gasoline is extremely hazardous if handled incorrectly. But with care, respect and common sense, gasoline can be used safely and can result in many benefits.

It's not hard to see why, at all our Shell stations, we are concerned about sources of ignition anywhere near our gasoline pumps or other fueling locations. In fact, fire regulations across the country (based on the National Fire Code) make it illegal:

• To smoke within 7.5 metres or 25 feet (3 metres or 10 feet in Ontario) of a gasoline pump including, inside a vehicle.
• To refuel a vehicle with the engine running.

Also, if you want to purchase gasoline in a container to take away from the station, it's illegal for us to sell it to you in anything but an approved container. Usually these are made of tough, corrosion-resistant red plastic with a detachable spout. They will always have a ULC or CSA label on them.

Anything else just isn't safe: gasoline eats through most plastics, including the kind used in pop bottles. And the risk of breakage and spillage with glass containers is just too great.

Shell Canada is committed to ensuring that these laws are obeyed, because they exist for your safety as well as the safety of our other customers, our neighbours, and our staff. That commitment applies to all of our Retailers and Attendants. We don't allow them to break the laws, and we know you'll understand why we are so careful.

Please remember: we need your co-operation if we are to keep our service stations safe.

Please also remember that we will not, under any circumstances, activate our fuel pumps if you are smoking or while your vehicle engine is running.

Other requests we make of our customers, particularly at self-serve stations, are also matters of common sense. They're precautions, and they're intended to ensure the safety of everyone. After all, a simple gasoline spill could lead to explosion, fire, maybe even serious injury. And we want to keep you and your family safe! So please:

• Ease up on the nozzle when you're filling the top half of your tank, to avoid gasoline spillage and its potentially dangerous consequences.
• Never jam open the nozzle lever of a self-serve gasoline pump. It isn't made to work that way. The law requires us to install nozzles that shut off automatically when the tank is almost full, and jamming the lever can interfere with the automatic mechanism.
• Never operate a cell phone while refueling. There are no documented or confirmed incidents at retail sites due to cell phone use. However, cell phones and other battery operated equipment should not be used at the pumps as they may be a potential ignition source for any fumes. But more importantly, cell phones pose a distraction from the important business of refueling and can lead to possible spills and accidents.
• Report gasoline spills to an Attendant, who will take appropriate clean-up action.
• Use a proper gas cap. A cap that doesn't fit can lead to spillage, and can therefore result in a considerable fire hazard in your vehicle. And never use a rag instead of a cap: that's a very foolish way to turn your car into a potential "Molotov cocktail" gasoline bomb.
• Don't let children use the pumps. It's happened that a child about as tall as the control lever on the pump has set the pump in motion accidentally while attempting to position the hose in the gasoline tank - getting the child soaked with gasoline, and therefore very flammable. Please be sure that the person who fuels your vehicle is old enough to safely and responsibly handle a potentially lethal substance like gasoline.
• Watch out for children around the pump island - and don't let your own children wander there. They may accidentally cause problems for other motorists. They could also be run over. Pump islands are busy places - we don't want your children to get hurt.
• Above all: Don't take chances with fuels of any kind. Don't spill them, don't light matches around them, don't misuse them as solvents, don't do anything that puts your safety or the safety of others at risk.

We hope you'll treat gasoline with the same respect at home, too. 

• Store gasoline only in a clean, well-ventilated area away from heat or anything that can cause ignition. Don't keep it in the basement. Gasoline vapours are heavier than air. They gather in low spots, and the danger of ignition from a furnace pilot light is especially serious.
• Keep gasoline tightly closed and in a ULC-or CSA-approved container. And handle the container gently and carefully at all times.
• Refuel gasoline lawnmowers outdoors and only when the engine and attachments are cool. Use a funnel to avoid spills.
• Use gasoline only as a motor fuel. Gasoline is not a cleaning fluid, charcoal briquette lighter or skin cleanser.

If you spill gasoline:

• On your clothing: Avoid open flames, remove the clothing slowly (to avoid ignition by static electricity) and as soon as you can, and take a shower, bathing contaminated skin with warm water and soap. Change into clean clothes, and wash the gasoline-soaked clothing as soon as possible, with lots of water.
• In your eyes: Flush eyes with water for 15 minutes, and call a doctor at once.
• In an enclosed area: Ventilate at once, and wash away with soapy water if spill is small. If a large quantity of gasoline is spilled, leave the area and call the fire department immediately.

Handling other accidents involving gasoline:

• A gasoline fire should be fought only by trained firefighters, unless it is very small and you have foam, chemical or CO2 extinguishers at hand. Never attempt to fight a gasoline fire with a stream of water. It's impossible - and extremely dangerous.
• If gasoline is swallowed it can kill. Never try to siphon gasoline by mouth. If it is swallowed, a doctor should be called at once. But never try to induce vomiting.
• If vomiting takes place, the gasoline could enter the lungs and cause suffocation - a danger greater than poisoning by ingestion. Gasoline in the lungs can also cause chemical pneumonia, which can be fatal.

Propane is a very efficient hydrocarbon fuel extracted from natural gas. It is also extremely versatile, with uses as a motor fuel, in home and commercial heating, and in a wide range of recreational equipment.

Propane may take the form of a liquid or gas, depending on pressure and temperature. Usually it is stored as a liquid under pressure. A litre of liquid propane, when released from its storage container to an appliance, converts to 270 litres of usable propane gas.

In its natural state, propane is non-toxic, colourless, odourless and heavier than air. Normally an "odourant" is added so that it can be readily detected in the event of a leak.

Propane, like gasoline, provides many benefits if handled carefully. But there is also the potential for propane explosions and fires it if is handled incorrectly. The following safety tips are important:

• Do not smoke when filling a propane tank or when near the propane dispenser.
• Extinguish appliance pilot lights during gasoline and propane refueling. Otherwise the lights could act as sources of ignition and cause an explosion.
• Use only certified appliances (those approved by the Canadian Gas Association (CGA), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or the Underwriters
• Laboratories of Canada (ULC). Other appliances not clearly marked with these approvals should first be converted by a qualified propane technician.
• Leak-test your system. Apply soapy water or leak-test solution to your cylinder valve, regulator fittings and piping connections. Close the appliance's on-off valve, then open the cylinder valve completely and look for bubbles from the soapy water. If you find any, close the cylinder valve completely and have the leak repaired by a qualified propane service person. Do this test at the beginning of the season each year, or when you get a new appliance, or when you change your propane cylinder, and every time you move your RV.
• Keep propane turned off when you're on the move. Use your RV electrical system to keep the appliances you need running.

When transporting and handling propane:

• Keep the cylinder valve closed tightly and secured by a plastic plug.
• Keep cylinders upright and well-ventilated at all times.
• Handle cylinders gently and with care.
• Use only cylinders approved by the CTC or DOT, and which are in good repair.
• Extinguish or remove all ignition sources before handling, transporting or installing propane cylinders.

Propane storage:

• It's illegal to use or store cylinders with a capacity greater than five pounds indoors. Store cylinders out of doors, away from sources of heat and ignition, with outlet valves closed and safety plugs installed.

If you smell propane:

• Remove all sources of ignition, including cigarettes.
• Shut off all appliances and cylinder valves.
• Do not turn the lights off or on.
• Ventilate the area or vehicle as thoroughly as possible, and then evacuate it immediately.
• If the smell persists after the valves have been shut off, call for qualified assistance by looking under "Gas" in the telephone Yellow Pages.