Natural Gas Safety

Natural gas is safe in normal use and has an excellent record as a household fuel. The risks are specific and well understood — leaks, carbon monoxide from incomplete combustion, and damage to buried lines — and all three are largely preventable.

If you smell gas right now, leave the building and call 911 from a safe distance. Full emergency steps: do you smell natural gas?

Recognizing a leak

Gas is odourless until the utility adds mercaptan, which smells of rotten eggs or sulphur. Also listen for hissing near lines or appliances, and look for blowing dirt, bubbling in puddles, or a patch of dead vegetation outdoors. Never test a suspected leak with a flame.

Carbon monoxide: the hazard you cannot smell

Carbon monoxide is produced when a fuel burns incompletely. It is colorless, odourless and tasteless, which is exactly what makes it dangerous — there is no sensory warning at all.

Fit CO alarms on every level and near sleeping areas. Test monthly, replace batteries yearly, and replace the alarm itself at the manufacturer’s interval.
Know the symptoms: headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, weakness — often described as flu-like but without a fever, and typically easing when you leave the building and returning when you go back.
If an alarm sounds or several people feel ill at once, get everyone outside and call 911.

A healthy gas flame burns blue. Yellow or orange flames, soot around a burner or vent, or persistent window condensation when an appliance runs all suggest incomplete combustion — book a service call. See how gas appliances work.

Appliance safety

Have furnaces and water heaters inspected annually by a qualified technician.
Keep the area around gas appliances clear — never store paint, solvents, paper or cleaning products beside a water heater or furnace.
Never use an oven or range to heat a room. They are not vented for continuous operation.
Never run a gas grill, generator or patio heater indoors, in a garage, or near an open window.
Keep flues and vents clear of nests, leaves and snow.
Make sure anyone working on gas lines or appliances is properly qualified.

Call 811 before you dig

Buried gas lines can run shallower than people expect, including across private property. Georgia law requires contacting 811 before digging — fence posts, deck footings, tree planting, mailbox posts and landscaping all count. The service is free: you call, utilities mark their buried lines, and you dig safely. Striking a gas line is dangerous and can make you liable for repairs. If you do strike one, leave the area immediately and call 911.

Know where your shut-off is

Find your gas meter and the main shut-off valve now, while nothing is wrong, and keep the right wrench nearby if the valve needs one. Only shut off the gas yourself if you can do it safely from outside and without delaying your exit. In most leak situations the correct action is simply to leave and let professionals handle the valve.

Severe weather

Flooding, falling trees and tornado damage can all compromise gas lines. Never operate an appliance that has been submerged until a qualified technician has inspected it, and never use a generator indoors. Georgia’s coastal areas have their own considerations — see natural gas safety and hurricanes.

Safety is the utility’s job, not your marketer’s

Whoever sells you gas — Gas South, SCANA Energy, Constellation or another — Atlanta Gas Light owns and maintains the pipes and responds to emergencies. Switching marketers changes nothing about who keeps the system safe, which is one reason switching suppliers carries no safety risk. You can compare rates freely on that basis.