why do we have to shut down our mobile phones when we are at the gas station?

Answer 1

there was an incident where a driver suffered burns and his car severely damaged when gasoline fumes ignited an explosion while he was talking on his mobile phone standing near the attendant who was pumping the gas. All the electronic devices in gas stations are protected with explosive containment devices, (intrinsically safe) while cell phones are not. READ YOUR HANDBOOK! Mobile phone makers Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia, all print cautions in their user handbooks that warn against mobile phones in "gas stations, fuel storage sites, and chemical factories." Exxon has begun placing "warning stickers" at its gasoline stations. The threat mobile phones pose to gas stations and their users is primarily the result of their ability to produce sparks that can be generated by the high-powered battery inside the phone. Please pass this on.

Answer 2

You don't. The theroy is that the static electricity from the cell phone could ignite the gas fumes while they are pumped into the car. This is a myth. The TV show mythbusters on discovery channel actually proved it.

Answer 3

Because cell phones put off static which can ignite the fuel from the vapors produced when pumping the gas. You know how static electricity sparks when you touch something, when the air is dry? This is the same thing that can happen when using your cell phone.

Answer 4

because the oil/energy companies in the US don't wan't us to contact iraq or kuwait or whatever oil producing country and ask them what they're charging gasoline for there

it'll cause a general outrage that can topple the administrative government

j/k.... mythbusters on the discovery channel has proved that such a thing is not a problem.... i'd have to agree w/ them after seeing the show

exploding gas stations with a cellphone is a myth, albeit a popular one

Answer 5

possibly blow the whole place up from an electric spark. Not supposed to smoke but you can and the risk is small. You can even flick a ciggarette into a bucket of gasoline and it won't blow but not a risk you want to take. If thiers a spillage, like an overflow and a puddle on the ground these fumes are highly combustible and they have to close the pumps down.

Answer 6

You Don't. This is a myth that was disproved on the show "Mythbusters". The only way they could get gasoline to ignite was from a static charge caused by people getting in and out of the car, (sliding across the seat).

Answer 7

I don't, but they say that because your cell phone is like a radio. It emits and receives electromagnetic waves. If there is gas vapor in the air and you start transmitting, or in this case making a call, those waves could ignite those fumes.

Answer 8

That is a myth. This was featured on Myth Busters and supposedly the phone will cause a charge that will set off a spark and ignite the gasoline. They disproved this.

Answer 9

some say that sparks from the cellphone can mix with the gas fumes in the air and could start a fire, exspecially if you are talking on the cell while pumping gas.

Answer 10

because it can cause a spark from the static electricity, and blow up the whole gas station. same reason you aren't supposed to get in and out of your car when you are fueling you car.