Click here to download a natural gas safety video (256 kbps.mov)
Click here to download a MP4 of the video

1. If you detect a faint odor of natural gas, check the pilot lights. If the pilot light or burner flame is out, shut off the gas supply. Allow ample time for any gas accumulation to escape before relighting.
   
2. If you smell an odor or know there is a damaged gas line, do not light any matches, candles, cigarette lighters, flashlights, motors or appliances. Don't use the light switch, telephone or cell phone.
   
3. Get everyone out of the building. Call us at 554.7777 from a phone not located in the building to have the gas shut off.
   
4. To report a gas leak, call 554.7777.

More than half of the reported natural gas accidents are caused by people digging before utility lines are marked.

Digger's Hotline Call 811 before you dig to get free locations of utilities.

Emergencies and disasters
In an emergency or disaster, turn off all gas appliances as you would if you were leaving your home -- like the stove, oven, gas fireplace, etc.

If there is a situation where gas needs to be shut off, M.U.D. will take care of it, and keep customers informed via the news media.

An uncontrolled release of natural gas may result in fire.

Click here for information about natural gas security.

Click here to go the Federal Office of Pipeline Safety.

Decreased sense of smell
If you have a decreased sense of smell, you may want to buy a "natural gas sensor." Most models are available for less than $60. They are easy to install and they monitor carbon monoxide, methane (natural gas) and propane. The unit should have the UL (Underwriters Laboratory) seal of approval.

Listed below are natural gas sensor websites:

1. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Dissorders
2. Safe home products
3. Propane products

What is Mercaptan?
Natural gas in its native state is colorless and odorless. Mercaptan is the additive that is added to natural gas to make it easier to detect in case of a leak. The most important thing to know about mercaptan is that it stinks. Some people compare it to the smell of rotten eggs.

In a concentrated form, its smell is almost unbearable. And it takes only a few parts per million of mercaptan to give natural gas a smell. That is precisely why we add it to natural gas. If we did not add mercaptan, it would be difficult for you to know that unlit natural gas was coming from your stove after you left the valve turned on. And leaks from furnaces and hot water heaters would be nearly impossible to detect without expensive equipment. So mercaptan's smell is a very valuable safety feature.

Mercaptans contain sulfur. That's what makes them smell. The kind we use blends well with natural gas and, in a gaseous state, has much the same properties as natural gas, so it will also rise and dissipate with natural gas.

There are other uses for mercaptans in industry, including jet fuel, pharmaceuticals and livestock feed additives. They are used in many chemical plants. Mercaptans are less corrosive and less toxic than similar sulfur compounds found naturally in rotten eggs, onions, garlic, skunks, and, of course, bad breath. In other word, forms of mercaptan can be found in things that smell.

Flex connectors
A flexible connector is the tubing which connects the appliance to a natural gas line in your home. Some connectors manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s had manufacturers' defects and could deteriorate over time, causing gas leaks, fires or explosions. Manufacturers of many of the defective connectors no longer are in business, so we continue to alert our customers.

Click here for illustration

If you recently installed new gas appliances, the connectors should be safe. The unsafe connectors are attached to gas appliances, such as a range, dryer, furnace or water heater. We don't want to take any chances with your safety. Please take these precautions:

1. Find out if your appliance connections are safe. Don't move the appliance. You run the risk of damaging a safe connector or making a faulty one worse. Only a professional can tell whether the connector is safe or faulty.
2. Call 554.6666. We will check your appliance connections at no charge. If a connection is faulty, M.U.D. or your heating or plumbing contractor can replace it.

We've notified customer-owners about defective flex connectors since 1990 through the newsletter sent with bill statements.

CSST pipe

Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) is easy to identify because of the distinctive yellow coating around the stainless steel pipe.

	CSST gas piping with corrugation exposed.
	CSST gas piping shown in a manifold.

The National Electric Code (NEC) states that the metal piping system (including gas lines) is required to be bonded if it is “likely to be energized” (250.104, 2005 NEC).

Arcing from a lightning strike can damage CSST piping.

Manufacturers claim bonding and grounding of CSST may provide increased protection of the gas piping in a building. For costs associated with bonding and grounding, contact a licensed electrician.

Emergencies

Decreased sense of smell

Mercaptan

Backdrafting in air-tight homes and buildings

Buried fuel line maintenance

CSST pipe

Fuel line installations for gas dryers and ranges

Product recalls

Digger's Hotline

Frequently asked questions about gas service and repair

Gas Rules