PHMSA Publishes Gas Cylinder Safety Advisory Notice

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration has published a safety advisory notice (77 FR 64590-64591) in Monday’s Federal Register (available on line yesterday) concerning an unknown number of high-pressure gas cylinders that were improperly marked and certified by George Welding and Supply Company of Montoursville, PA between 2001 and 2012.

The Safety Advisory notes that George Welding and Supply Company is not “approved to requalify DOT-specification cylinders or mark such cylinders as being requalified”. Apparently George Welding and Supply marked some number of cylinders with the Requalifier Identification Number (RIN) of the following approved companies:

C171--Proshield Fire Protection, Waterloo, IA;

C004--Swartz Fire & Safety Equipment Co., Inc., Bellefonte, PA;

C411--Advanced Fire Protection Services, Inc., Ft. Walton Beach, FL;

C951--Peifer's Fire Protection, Inc., Pillow, PA;

D477--NASCO, Colorado Springs, CO;

D575--Sea Sports, Inc., Hyannis, MA;

D576--Chenango Welding Supply, LLC;

A101--Airgas North Central, Waterloo, IA; and

D322--Allstate Fire Equipment Co.

The notice states that cylinders actually requalified by the above company are not covered by this notice; only cylinders serviced by George Welding and Supply Company are affected. People that have cylinders with the above listed RINs should check with their supplier to see who was responsible for their most recent requalification.

For cylinders reported requalified by George Welding and Supply Company, the Safety Advisory notes that they may not be safe and recommends the following actions be taken:

• Cylinders that are filled with an atmospheric gas should be vented or otherwise safely discharged; or

• Cylinders that are filled with a material other than an atmospheric gas should not be vented but instead should be safely discharged; and

• Prior to refilling, the cylinders must be taken to a DOT-authorized cylinder requalifier to ensure their suitability for continued service.