WASHINGTON-A Canadian press report identifying a mobile phone as the cause of a gas-station explosion cannot be confirmed by Canadian authorities, but federal officials in British Columbia and some in the United States are treating phones as potential dangers.
Richard Melnyk, a spokesman for Regional Fire Services in Trail, B.C., disputed allegations that the Canadian story was a hoax.
“That was [from] a news release that we got, and we were just releasing it to the public for their safety,” said Melnyk.
In an Aug. 13 Environmental Protection Agency memo obtained by RCR, EPA managers were directed to “take appropriate action to notify employees that cellular telephones should not be used near flammable, or combustible liquids.”
But the memo adds EPA is not aware of any actual accident where personal injury or property damage has occurred.
The latest controversy erupted after Trail Times, a daily newspaper in British Columbia, reported on Aug. 26 that Melnyk was told by a B.C. fire commissioner about a driver who was burned and whose car was badly damaged after gasoline fumes ignited from cell phone use.
Where did the unnamed B.C. fire commissioner get his information? He apparently read it in the July issue of The Chieftan, a publication of the Fire Chief’s Association of British Columbia.
“The danger of the use of cell phones around gas stations, fuel storage sites and chemical factories has come to light,” the article begins. “All fire departments are requested to pass this information on to their members and have a warning published in their local news media on the subject.”
The article goes on to say wireless manufacturers, like Motorola Inc. and Qualcomm Inc., warn against using mobile phones near flammable liquids and chemicals.
BT Tel Mobility, according to the fire chief magazine, urges the same caution with regard to pocket phones and pagers.
What was the source of The Chieftan article?
Ann Hancock, publisher of the magazine, said she does not know. “We didn’t verify the information.”
Despite uncertainty about whether a real danger exists, Hancock said fire departments decided to err on the side of caution.
A similar-sounding incident in Indonesia was relayed throughout the Internet several months ago, but it too could not be confirmed.
The wireless industry, despite warnings against phone use near flammables in brochures with phones, dismisses the alleged dangers as “urban legend.” Likewise, oil companies say they have no evidence that mobile phone use at gas stations is potentially hazardous.
Nevertheless, some oil companies, like Exxon, have begun to post warnings at gas stations for drivers to turn phones off when filling up.
Still, there is widespread skepticism about mobile phone-induced explosions. “We believe the physical conditions necessary to make this possible are unlikely at a gas station,” said Ken Giles, a spokesman at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. At the same time, he requested the agency be notified of any such incidents.
