Natural gas

Using natural gas is safe. Hazardous situations are caused when natural gas leaks into a closed space from the pipes or the gas device. Preventing gas leaks is extremely important for maintaining operational safety.

Another hazardous factor in using gas is the carbon monoxide resulting from imperfect burning. This must be taken into consideration, especially in spaces where there is no ventilation of the combustion gases. Correct installation as well as gas devices meant and approved for natural gas, along with their proper use and maintenance, guarantee the safe use of natural gas.

An odour is artificially added to natural gas to increase its user safety. For certain purposes (huge expenditure, odours in the environment, process requirements) the gas may be odourless. A natural gas leak is easy to detect because of the smell.

If the facility uses odourless natural gas, there must be fixed detection devices to monitor possible gas leaks and they must also be maintained frequently.

The simplest gas detectors only tell if the location has gas or not. If the detector also contains a gauge, it usually tells the relative content from the lower ignition point. In these cases, you must verify that the gauge is calibrated for the gas it is intended to measure. If the gas leak detector also contains an alarm, it is usually set to a level which is 1/5 of the lower ignition point. A larger leak can be noticed from the louder sound or rippling of the air above the leak.

What to do after detecting a natural gas leak

If you detect a natural gas leak based on either the smell or the detector, report the incident to the person responsible.
If the natural gas leak is detected from the pipes (sound, soil flying around); report it to the public emergency number and the owner of the pipeline.
The owner of the pipeline and emergency numbers are found from information boards on the pipeline.
When reporting the incident, you should also give the number of the sign on the information board, close to which the leak has been detected.

Actions in emergency situations

A gas leak indoors means an immediate danger of explosion, hence the most important task is to prevent the gas from igniting. Ignition and spark sources must be removed, the space ventilated, and people moved to safety from the danger zone. Simultaneously with the aforementioned actions, you must start limiting the gas leak by closing the main valve or similar valves.

Depending on the situation, either the person monitoring the system or the general emergency office should be informed of the situation without delay. To successfully deal with these emergency situations, the facility must have an emergency action guide. How to perform in emergency situations should be practised frequently.