Natural gas is completely safe when it's sealed inside pipes and used correctly. Danger occurs when natural gas leaks out or doesn't combust properly in appliances.
Because natural gas is colorless and odorless, utility companies add an odorant that smells like rotten eggs.
If there is a faint rotten egg smell in your home, check range burners and the pilot lights on your natural gas appliances. If you have a sudden or strong rotten egg smell in your home, get everyone out of the house immediately.
- Call 9-1-1 from a neighbor's phone
- Don't stop to open a window.
- Don't touch anything that might create a spark. Some ignition sources include telephones, cell phones, pagers, light switches, garage door openers, flashlights, vehicles and other running equipment.
- It's also a good idea to stay away from carpeted areas to avoid sparks of static electricity.
Our utility service specialists will respond to indoor natural gas gas odor complaints, while our leak search technicians will respond to outdoor natural gas odor complaints. Because we care about the safety of our customers, there is no extra charge for this service.
Appliance Check
An easy way to tell if natural gas appliances are adjusted properly and getting enough oxygen is to check the color of the flame.
The flame should be about 90 percent blue. A yellow flame indicates the appliance isn't working right and could be giving off harmful fumes. Remember, not all problems with natural gas appliances will have the symptom of a yellow pilot light - and not all pilot lights are visible.
Natural Gas Safety Tips
- Keep all natural gas appliances clean and properly vented.
- Never cover fresh air vents that supply air to your appliances.
- Do not store any flammable materials in or near the natural gas appliances. (Don't use the oven as a storage area.)
- Never use your oven or stove top to heat your apartment or dry your clothes.
- Keep the area around your furnace and water heater clear.
- Never leave any food unattended while it's cooking.
Routine Leak Detection
The Department of Transportation requires us to perform a routine leak detection on all of our customers' underground natural gas service lines, beginning from the street to where the meter enters the building. The leak search technicians check 131,000 underground natural gas lines every three to five years. If you see someone in your front yard or back yard carrying a blue box and inserting a wand in the ground, chances are, we are checking your underground natural gas lines. We also have specialty checks we perform every year as well as a special mobile unit used primarily for leak detection of main natural gas lines. The instruments that check for outside leaks are extremely sensitive. They are capable of detecting one part per million of natural gas in the air.
If a hazardous natural gas leak is detected, the leak repair crew will either repair it immediately or assure the safety of property and life.
