Gas cans, portable fuel containers now require flame mitigation devices

Gas cans, fuel containers flame mitigation overview: 

• Who: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced new rules for the use of gas cans and other fuel containers.
• Why: The CPSC will now require flame mitigation devices on the containers to make them safer.
• Where: The gas cans and fuel containers flame mitigation rule will be active in the United States from July 2023.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced new rules for the use of gas cans and other fuel containers, in order to make them safer.

On Jan. 17, the CPSC announced it was introducing a new mandatory safety standard. The standard will go into effect July 2023. 

The safety standard says that flame mitigation devices will now be required on new gas cans and other containers that are sold empty, such as for kerosene and diesel, and on new containers that are sold pre-filled with fuels such as charcoal lighter fluid, liquid fireplace fuels and premixed gasoline and engine fuel. 

Thousands require treatment each year due to flammable liquid burns, CPSC says

Most fuel containers already have the safety device, the CPSC said. However, each year, thousands of people go to emergency departments with burn injuries related to flammable liquids.

‘Many burn incidents involve liquid fuel used on a backyard fire pit, a campfire, a bonfire or burning trash. Vapors from these liquids are invisible and dangerous,” it said.

The CPSC said flame mitigation devices, such as flame arrestors, protect against flame jetting and container rupturing. 

Flame jetting is when an external ignition source – such as an open flame – causes a sudden ignition of fuel within a container and forcefully expels burning vapor and liquid from the mouth of the container, resulting in a blowtorch-like effect, it said. 

Container rupturing is like flame jetting, except the burning vapor and liquid are expelled through a rupture in the container.

Meanwhile, a U.S. safety watchdog has urged Americans to learn how to safely heat their homes this winter, with heaters causing dozens of fire deaths each year, predominantly in communities of color.

What do you think about the CPSC’s change to the safety standard? Let us know in the comments! 

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