Safety Update with NW Natural
In its natural state, natural gas is odorless and colorless. But we give it a rotten egg odor so you’ll know something is not right. Smell rotten eggs? Here’s what to do: SMELL. GO. LET US KNOW.®
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HOW TO IDENTIFY A POSSIBLE GAS LEAK
• SMELL rotten eggs or sulfur
• HEAR a blowing or hissing sound
• SEE blowing dirt
HOW TO RESPOND
• GO, leave the area on foot
• DON’T start a vehicle
• DON’T use an open flame
• DON’T use any electrical or battery-operated
device, such as a light switch, phone or garage
door opener.
WHO TO CALL
• Once you’re away from your home or the area
and can no longer smell gas, LET US KNOW
about the odor by calling our emergency
number 800-882-3377.
NW NATURAL IS YOUR PARTNER IN SAFETY
We are one of the first utilities to replace cast iron and bare steel pipes with modern materials. The new polyethylene or coated and cathodically protected steel pipes are highly resistant to corrosion and have a life expectancy of up to 100 years.
Our gas control room is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to make sure our system is working the way it should. We also conduct regular in-person inspections of our pipelines and about 500,000 routine field visits every year. Together, we can continue to be a leader in safety. We encourage you to learn more about how you can be safe around natural gas by reading this article.
CALL 811 BEFORE YOU DIG
Pipelines may be located under streets, sidewalks or even on private property. It’s important to know where they are before you dig. Even planting a tree or shrub requires a call.
As a property or business owner, you or your contractor are required by law to call 811 at least two business days before you dig. NW Natural and other utilities will send a professional locator to mark your utility lines at no cost to you.
Also, be sure to use only hand tools within 24 inches of each marked line to carefully expose the exact locations before using power equipment in the area.
If you damage a pipe, call us immediately at 800-882-3377. No damage is too small to report. We want to know about gouges, scrapes or dents to a pipeline, its coating or any part of the pipe because those can lead to future problems. If you smell natural gas while you’re digging, leave the area on foot, and then call 911 and NW Natural to report the leak.
LOOK FOR THE MARKERS
Since most pipelines are buried, pipeline markers indicate the approximate location of underground pipelines near you.
To find out more information about the locations of natural gas transmission pipes, you can view a map at the National Pipeline Mapping System webstie at npms.phmsa.dot.gov/.
Please visit nwnatural.com to access othe rimportant safety information such as: the signsand symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, gas equipment maintenance and emergency preparedness.
