Warning: Don't pump gas and talk

Add gas stations to the growing list of places -- from hospitals to theaters to fancy restaurants -- where cellular phone users are made to feel like wired pariah. And some gasoline firms have also made compact disc players, pagers and other personal electronic devices verboten at the neighborhood gas station.

BP Amoco officials are concerned that electronic impulses from cellular phones and other electronic devices could trigger explosions if mixed with gas fumes and they fear that, if dropped near a gas pump, a cell phone's battery could spark and ignite gasoline fumes.

The company, which earlier this year issued warnings against using cellular phones, compact disc players and pagers at its service stations in the United Kingdom and Australia, is now set to do the same thing at its 9,500 service stations in the United States. The warnings will be posted before the end of the year.

"All we're doing is following the advice that cell phone manufacturers have been giving us for years," said Howard Miller, a spokesman for BP Amoco. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Motorola, for example, warns cell phone users not to use their devices in fueling areas. But at the same time, BP officials say unconfirmed reports of explosions and fires played a role in their decision.

Fact or urban legend?
Several months ago, stories circulated over the Internet about two drivers, one in Indonesia and another in Adelaide, Australia, who were severely burned after a sparks from their cellular phones caused explosions. The problem with the stories, however, is that neither was true.

Industry officials admit this latest cell-phone scare has grown into an urban myth, something nearer to reports about scary subterranean reptiles that live in the New York sewer system than to actual science.

In Washington, the president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association blasted the announcement in a written statement.

"Internet myths combined with a corporate legal department's desire for inoculation makes a powerful brew. First it was phones on airplanes (even on the ground!) and now it's phones at gas stations. The phones on planes myth was recently debunked in the press. Phones and gas stations exploding are equally as specious. There is no evidence," Tom Wheeler said.

"Urban legends like this seem harmless, but the public deserves to know the truth. Wireless phones don't cause gas stations to blow up. These warnings simply perpetuate the myth," he added.

The American Petroleum Institute, which is looking into the reports, has so far found no substantiated reports of fires.

"We can find no evidence of someone using a cell phone causing any kind of accident, no matter how small, at a gas station anywhere in the world," said Denise McCourt of the American Petroleum Institute. "The real safety problem is people who use a cell phone while they drive. That's a cause for concern."

Urban myths notwithstanding, McCourt and others predicted it wouldn't be long before cell phone warnings are placed at most of the 180,000 service stations across the country.

Regulation movement grows
Chevron began mailing out information this month to 7,000 service stations nationwide to warn against the use of all portable electronic devices near gas pumps.

In June, Exxon mailed information to 8,300 Exxon service stations nationwide to warn against cellular telephones being used near gas pumps. Part of the mailing included "No Cell Phones" decals that are supposed to be placed next to the now universal "No Smoking" signs now on display at self-service gas pumps.

In September, the four largest service station operators in Canada -- Sunoco, Shell, Petro-Canada and Esso -- moved to stop customers from using mobile telephones while at the gas pumps. The decision followed a warning from Ontario's Technical Standards and Safety Authority.

The city of Cicero, Ill., a Chicago suburb, recently passed the first law in the nation banning the use of cellular phones at gas stations.

Esso began putting warning labels regarding cellular phones in its stations in Europe last year.

Bob Davis, a spokesman for Exxon USA, said he did not know of any cases in which sparks from a cellular phone caused an explosion at a gas station. But at the same time, he called Exxon’s policy a matter of common sense.

No pump police
Davis also noted there are no "pump police" at Exxon stations to enforce the warning.

"We hope people will do the right thing, just like they shouldn't smoke cigarettes when they're filling up," Davis said. "People should be paying attention to what they're doing."

Others industry officials describe the warning as a minor inconvenience. The warning, they explain, does not forbid people from keeping a cell phone in their car while they fill up. They just want it kept away from the gasoline pumps.

They are also worried about lawsuits. While officials from both the oil companies and the telecommunications industry say the chances of a cell phone sparking a fire is remote, it's almost certain that someone will file a lawsuit over the issue.

"If we knew about a potential problem, no matter how small, and failed to act to resolve it, the company could be hit with a lawsuit," Miller said. "We live in a very litigious society and we have to protect ourselves."

Fred Gorell, a spokesman for Chevron, said he doesn't understand why the policy is creating such a fuss. Even though he described the chances of anything happening as "very, very, very remote," consumers shouldn’t be using cell phones next to a gasoline pump.

"The first thing you see at all our stations is a warning not to be distracted while you're pumping gas," he noted. "Talking on your cell phone is definitely a distraction."