Why the mobile phones to be switched off at the petrol Pumps?

Though the question sounds to be funny, but by using the cell phone at Petrol Pump may result in catastrophe.

"The Threat mobile phones poses to petrol pumps and their users around the world is due to thier ability to produce sparks. These can be generated by the high powered battery inside the phone, which is itself, is a possible cause of fire. But the electromagnetic waves emitted by the phone are more than sufficient to create considerable static electricity that heats the surrounding air and if the flammable vapor, concentrated enough, causes an explosion. But the other electronic devices installed at the petrol pumps are safe, as they are protected by the explosive containment devices. But the same is not true with the cellular phones". But the danger is still ignored by number of users who continue to talk on the cellular phones while filling up at petrol pumps.

Indian Ministry Guidelines:

Switch off cellphones at petrol pumps: Ram Naik

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 27. The Petroleum Ministry today warned that cellular phones should be switched off at petrol pumps as they were a potential ignition source to the flammable vapours in the atmosphere.

Due to the potential risk of fire accidents due to ignition from the batteries of cell phones, manufacturers and service providers of cell phones also advise users to keep cell phones in "off'' mode.

The Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik, directed that steps be taken to create awareness among customers about the need to keep cell phones switched off while at the retail outlets.

He said oil marketing companies should arrange distribution of suitable pamphlets in this regard to each vehicle coming in for refuelling at the outlets for 30 days. The companies have also been advised to orient their staff appropriately and put up signs urging their customers to switch off their cell phones.

The Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) has given the opinion that mobile phones should be switched off at retail outlets, CNG and LPG refuelling stations, and not permitted inside oil installations.

It pointed out that cell phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic, multinational oil and companies such as Shell, the aviation wing of BP Amoco and Airtel had all recommended switching off mobile phones at fuel stations.

Source : http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/06/28/stories/2002062803601100.htm

Some Advice to be given to the customers:

“Please do not talk on the phone sir,” should be a polite warning from an employee to the customer. “Due to the potential risk of fire accidents, we advise cellphone users to switch off their sets when they come to petrol bunks. Aware the customer that we have also instructed our staff to make sure the rule is implemented,”

Rs. 21,000 cr oil bonds urged

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and get issued oil bonds worth Rs.20,872 crore to the three state-run oil marketing companies to make up for the losses they had incurred on fuel sales. Though the government had earlier this year explicitly decided to compensate Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation for the losses they incurred on selling domestic LPG and kerosene through PDS by way of oil bonds, the Finance Ministry had not issued any bonds for the three quarters.

The three companies lost Rs.11,853 crore in revenues on not being allowed to raise LPG and kerosene prices in line with the cost during April-September. An additional revenue loss of Rs.9,019 crore revenue was estimated for the third quarter ending December 31, 2009.

Mr. Deora had on two occasions written to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for issuing oil bonds but the Ministry has failed to allocate any amount towards this in the supplementary demands of grant (extra spending). “We have not got any bonds in the last three quarters. It is not possible to continue like this,” Mr. Deora said.

Revenue loss

The government had decided to make good all of the revenues lost on sale of domestic LPG and kerosene through the issue of oil bonds, while the same on petrol and diesel was to be met by upstream firms like OIL and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

The three firms now lose Rs.3.49 a litre on petrol, Rs.2.38 a litre on diesel, Rs.18.13 a litre on kerosene and Rs.250.67 per LPG cylinder, according to Mr. Deora.

Source : http://beta.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article68381.ece

Nation-wide bank strike on Wednesday

Already our dealers are suffering with strike / bandh at rayalaseema and coastal andhra pradesh. This resulted with disruption of supplies from cuddapah and guntakal depots. To take the toll again, strike by SBI on wednesday... Anyway news follows:

Banking operations are likely to be hit on Wednesday as public sector bank employees will go on a one-day nation-wide strike to protest the proposed merger of the State Bank of Indore with the parent SBI.

“About 4 lakh bank employees under the banner of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) would observe a strike as the conciliation meeting with the management failed,” AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

During the conciliatory meeting held today, unions offered to defer the strike if the SBI management agreed to stop further action on the merger of State Bank of Indore, he said, adding, “the management did not agree, and hence the strike stands.”

The conciliatory meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association and the management of SBI and the State Bank of Indore was held before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner here.

Among other demands, Venkatachalam said, there should be no consolidation in the public sector banks in the name of creating a global size bank.

Many public sector and private sector banks have already informed the public that the normal functioning of the bank’s branches may get affected in view of the strike call.

The Federal Bank in a filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange said it is likely that the normal functioning of branches may get affected.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article65568.ece

All about Nitrogen Tyre Inflator

Advantages:

The claims are this:

1. Nitrogen-filled tires maintain proper pressure longer
2. The rubber of nitrogen-filled tires last longer
3. Nitrogen is less volatile than oxygen and thus safer in a fiery crash
4. Cars with Nitrogen-filled tires get better gas mileage
5. Cars with Nitrogen-filled tires are better for the environment

The last two claims are dependent upon the expectation that the tires filled with nitrogen are actually at properly inflated pressure more consistently. So let’s set them aside and focus on the first three points.

1. Do nitrogen-filled tires maintain proper pressure longer? The premise for this claim is that nitrogen is a larger molecule than oxygen. It is. Only slightly. But let’s not omit the fact that we’re talking about molecules here and not just the element. Oxygen and nitrogen are both diatomic molecules. Nitrogen actually has less mass than oxygen, so Graham’s Law dictates that it diffuses a bit faster than oxygen. However, since the actual size of the oxygen molecule (O2) is a bit larger than that of a nitrogen molecule (N2), this only applies if the opening from which the molecules are effusing from is large enough to permit the largest of the two. In such cases, N2 will diffuse faster.

The question, then, becomes, are the pores in rubber (assuming there are such pores) smaller than the N2 molecule but larger than the O2 molecule? I don’t know the answer to this. Nor could I find any literature in the few minutes I searched, but if anyone has a citation to an independent (i.e. non Nitrogen Tire industry) study or bit of research, I’m interested. Without digging out my old chemistry textbook, I’m willing to tentatively accept Wiki Answers on the sizes of N2 and O2 molecules: N2 is roughly 300 picometers while O2 is slightly smaller at 292 picometers. I’m open to revising these figures if someone cites a more reliable source, but I can’t imagine that there’d be any reason for the link to be more than slightly wrong.

2. Does rubber oxidize faster when exposed to oxygen rather than pure nitrogen?I’d expect so. The real questions are: a) how to you keep oxygen on the outside of your tires from causing oxidation?, and b) does it really matter to me since every single tire I’ve ever replaced was because of worn tread and not oxidation?

3. Why do I give a shit whether or not the oxygen in my tires will fuel the fire of my fiery crash? If the explosion is powerful enough to consume the oxygen in the surrounding air leaving only my tires as reserve fuel, I suspect I’m going to be a crispy critter anyway.

As for 4. and 5., I’m not that arsed for time that I can’t continue my routine of checking my tire pressure every 5,000 KMS when I change my oil. In fact, nearly every time I’ve ever checked my tires at 5k, they’ve either been dead on for the proper psi or just a pound or two off. Whenever I’ve had to fill more than that, it’s been either because of a faulty valve or a nail in the tire itself. I suspect that the resulting points of egress in a faulty valve or pucture would create holes large enough for either O2 or N2 to escape through effusion. So, in that case, Graham’s Law would be in effect and N2 would escape faster than O2.

Disadvantages

• Inflating tires with Nitrogen is quite costly. The cost generally comes to somewhere around 25 to 50 India Rupees per tyre for a passenger car.
• Filling tyres with nitrogen requires more maintenance as compared to compressed gas.
• The availability factor is the biggest disadvantage of inflating tyres with nitrogen, as the gas is not readily available. It is usually found only with specialist tyre dealers.