Some VST nozzles have allowed gasoline to be unexpectedly sprayed before the nozzle is inserted in the vehicle's' gas tank, the OSFM said. To date, 13 spraying incidents have been reported and confirmed [image-nocss] by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Seven of these incidents resulted in consumers being sprayed with gasoline.
Station owners or operators are obligated to remove the hold open latches by October 15, 2010, in order to remain in operation.
CARB is currently working with VST and other manufacturers on replacement nozzles. When these replacement nozzles become available, they will provide the station owners the option of replacing their current VST nozzles with a nozzle that provides hold-open latches for their customers.
Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya L. Hoover spelled out specifics in a letter mailed to operators of nearly one-third of the total in California, reported The Sacrament Bee.
The mandate also recommends that stations post a sign warning customers to not use foreign objects to wedge open nozzle levers. In some cases, drivers have reportedly inserted quarters, bubble gum and cigarette lighters into the latches.
State officials said VST and organizations representing service stations have been cooperating; however, some hard feelings are evident, said the report.
Lawyer Todd Sorrell, VST's counsel in California, said the VST nozzles in question were approved by the state as part of a California-mandated vapor recovery system designed to reduce air pollution at gas stations. "They passed the state's rigorous testing, and since their introduction, they've used over 1 billion times in California without any spray or leaking," Sorrell told the newspaper.
Sorrell also noted that an undetermined number of nozzles might have been damaged by consumers, some of whom forget to remove a nozzle and pull away from a gasoline pump.
Jay McKeeman, vice president of government relations for the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, likewise noted that current VST nozzles passed state inspection. "Our members who were required to purchase the VST nozzle are now going to suffer further economic harm, loss of business, an increase in liability and increased customer anger and frustration," he told the paper.
McKeeman suggested that a fund be established to defray potentially devastating costs to station operators, who have already spent tens of thousands to meet state standards on vapor emissions.
Last year, as the state deadline for vapor recovery retrofits approached, the industry said retrofits cost about $11,000 per pump, or an average of about $80,000 for a typical station.
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