Natural gas – safe and secure
Natural gas is one of the safest sources of energy there is. In Québec, more than 180,000 customers, including a high percentage of schools, hospitals, businesses and large companies, use it every day.
It’s not toxic
Medical research has shown that people can breathe air with a natural gas concentration as high as 25% without any harmful effect on their health.
It’s lighter than air
If natural gas escapes into the air, it simply rises and dissipates into the atmosphere. It does not accumulate on the ground, unlike propane and gasoline.
It does not ignite easily
Natural gas does ignite easily: it takes a very high temperature (538°C) for that to happen.
However, flames, sparks and discharges of static electricity should be avoided, since natural gas can ignite in concentrations of 5-15% in the air.
It’s easy to detect
The presence of natural gas in the air can be detected in concentrations below 1% due to the addition of mercaptan, an organic substance that gives it an odour of rotten eggs.
Natural Gas Safety Data Sheet
Gaz Métro and prevention
Did you know that Gaz Métro:
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Checks its 148,000 building connections every six years?
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Inspects the connections to 3,000 priority buildings every year
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Takes 400 selective readings of mercaptan every month and checks its 416 cut-toff valves every year?
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The design and construction of Gaz Métro’s distribution network meets the most exacting standards of the Canadian gas industry, making it one of the most modern networks in North America.
Our network surveillance operates 24/7, 365 days a year. Our control centre monitors the pressure at more than 110 reading points to ensure stability and to guarantee that the natural gas network is in good working order at all times.