PHMSA Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety Advisory

Today the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a safety advisory in the Federal Register (78 FR 33891) concerning improperly marked gas cylinders. This is the third safety advisory of this sort in the last year (10-13-12 and 03-13-13).

In this instance Shasta Fire Equipment, Inc. of Redding, CA has been identified by PHMSA as having certified DOT-specification gas cylinders without doing the required testing. This means that the cylinders marked by this company between March 6^th, 2013 and May 6^th, 2013 may not be safe for containing or shipping pressurized gasses.

Anyone having a  DOT-specification 3AA, 3AL, 3HT, and exemption (DOT-E) and special permit (DOT-SP) cylinders, marked with ‘RIN D183’ between March 6, 2013 and May 6, is advised to promptly remove it from service, safely discharge the contents, and send it to a an authorized retester for proper testing.

PHMSA Gas Cylinder Safety Advisory

Today the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration published a Safety Advisory in the Federal Register (78 FR 16045) concerning inadequately tested gas cylinders in carbon dioxide service.

The advisory notes that approximately 496 DOT 3AA and 3AL cylinders from Flint Welding Supply (Flint, MI) used in carbon dioxide service were improperly marked from approximately June 2010 to December 2012 by Kraus Fire Equipment Co. According to the notice cylinders marked with an ‘A978’ or a partial ‘A978’ or just the Month/Year, without a RIN mark in the middle “may not possess the structural integrity to safely contain their contents under pressure during normal transportation and use”.

Any cylinders with these marks should be vented or otherwise safely discharged by authorized personnel and returned to Flint Welding Supply.