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AMMAN — Experts on Sunday disputed a warning issued by the Labour Ministry to motorists claiming that filling gasoline tanks may lead to an explosion in high temperatures.
On Sunday, the ministry issued a statement that included instructions to employers to ensure workers’ safety during the hot spell, which is expected to prevail this week.
Also in the statement, the ministry urged motorists to avoid filling their petrol tanks to the brim as they may explode due to hot temperatures.
But fuel and auto experts said the “exploding gasoline tank” is a myth.
Fahed Al Fayez, president of the Gas Station Owners Association, told The Jordan Times that the instructions were scientifically and technically untrue, adding that motorists in the “much hotter” Gulf region are not advised to avoid filling up their petrol tanks to the maximum.
Manufacturers of automobiles, particularly relatively modern cars, develop measures that guarantee tanks carry fuel safely, he said, adding that modern cars in Jordan represent over 70 per cent of the overall number of vehicles.
Fayez explained that cars are equipped with an auto shut-off device in the pump to stop filling after reaching tank limit.
Fuel tanks are also equipped with a gas releasing mechanism to ensure cars remain safe even if filled beyond capacity.
However, Fayez said that although the advice was not scientifically and technically correct, the instructions remain harmless.
Khalid Issa, a mechanical engineer and owner of a car repair outlet in the Bayader area, agreed with Fayez that it is not dangerous to fill up with fuel regardless of temperatures as cars are equipped with “strong” safety systems.
As temperatures in Amman and the rest of the Kingdom reached around 42°C, Issa said fuel tanks cannot be heated to the point of explosion, adding that in Jordan it does not get as hot as the weather in the Gulf region.
“Even in the Gulf it is safe to have the car tanks at full capacity,” he added.
