<All> Danger note - bedliners in pickups

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

I forward this to my car-list friends in the interst of safety!

I recall that static combustion of gasoline was a real problem back 
in the earliest days of motoring...I'd bet this is related.

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The following items contain safety alerts/warnings associated 
with plastic bed liners in pickup trucks.  When filling a gas can 
with the can inside the bed liner, static electricity buildup can 
cause a spark which can ignite the gas!  Please read and beware!

     The following information was received from our friends in 
Denver ...

     SAFETY ALERT: PICKUP TRUCKS WITH BED LINERS 
     From a message dated June 16, 1996:
     I want to relate an,incident that happened to a friend of 
mine the  other day.  He was filling a small gas can that was 
inside the bed of his pick up which has a bed liner in it.  The 
gasoline spontaneously ignited, burning him in the process.  The 
investigation determined that this was caused by static 
electricity buildup from the plastic bed liner.  I have since 
learned that this is not uncommon, and in fact there are two 
technical bulletins out on this.  One is from Ford Motor Corp. 
and the other is from Standard Oil Co. The recommendations on 
both are that you should never fill a gas can in the bed of a 
truck with a bed liner in it.  Place the container on the ground 
to fill it.  The Ford bulletin also stated that placing a    
rubber mat under the bed liner would alleviate this problem;      
however,the friend of mine had already done that and the gasoline 
still ignited. This leaves the only way to fill gas can is to 
place them on the ground.

     WARNING - CHEVRON ISSUES GAS-CAN ALERT
     Chevron USA has reported several instances of metal gas-cans 
exploding while being filled in the backs of pickup trucks at 
service stations.  In a warning published in Chevron's Marketing 
Bulletin 36-1904, Chevron said the insulated effect of the 
plastic liner's found in the backs of many pickup trucks prevents 
the static charge generated by gasoline flowing into a metal can 
from grounding.  As the charge builds, it can create a static 
spark between the can and the gas nozzle.  Chevron is advising 
that all cans should be placed on the ground away from vehicles 
and people when being filled.

     WARNING - DEATH/ACCIDENT ON REFUELING CANS INSIDE BEDLINERS
     My daughter, an electrical engineer who is attending a 
seminar in Boston this week, called me this AM to have me alert 
her father of possible death/injury when fueling a gas can that 
is sitting in the back of a pickup truck with a bed liner. (We 
own a truck with a dealer supplied bed liner and have boats, 
ATVs, and a lawn mower which would mandate fueling a gas can).  A 
flame specialist at this seminar told me that there have been 23 
injuries/deaths because of pickup truck owner's fueling a gas 
can/tank that is sitting in the back of their pickup truck 
without removing it. Apparently the bedliner's do not provide a 
ground and the fuel generates static electricity that can     
cause the fumes to ignite.  This specialist said that there was   
pressure on the bed liner manufacturers to put a warning label on 
their product.  With the selling of so many pickups, of which any 
customers buy a dealer installed liner, I thought is best to draw 
attention to this claim for further investigation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.             Fax:    409/862-1202
College Station, TX 77843           Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
W3 page - http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/satellit/alpage.htm

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