The US government has warned citizens against something few would even attempt in the first place: stockpiling gasoline in plastic bags. The warning comes after a ransomware attack crippled the East Coast’s gas supply.
More than 1,000 gas stations in a dozen states have run out of fuel, after a ransomware attack last week shut down one of the US’ vital arteries. Operated by the Colonial Pipeline Company, it normally transits 100 million gallons a day from Texas all the way to New York – nearly half of the Eastern Seaboard’s gasoline and diesel supply.
As motorists queued for fuel, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a bizarre warning on Wednesday: “Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline.”
Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline.
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) May 12, 2021
“Use only containers approved for fuel,” the commission continued, before warning Americans not to “pour gasoline over or near an open flame,” due to the risk of “a sudden and possibly violent flash fire.”
“We know this sounds simple, but when people get desperate, they stop thinking clearly,” the commission concluded. “If you know someone who is thinking about bringing a container not meant for fuel to get gas, please let them know it’s dangerous.”
When using a gas canister, never pour gasoline over or near an open flame.
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) May 12, 2021
Aside from the risk of spillage, gasoline eats through most plastics. One would think that most motorists would know this, but video footage and images shared on social media in recent days suggest otherwise.
Oh, shit. #gasshortage? Better pick up a couple extra bags. pic.twitter.com/a09ue2eQfK
— Fiendishly Yours, (@FiendishlyYours) May 11, 2021
Well that explains the gas shortage pic.twitter.com/VyWgLwl0EI
— Keith (@phillyindiefan) May 12, 2021
I'm crying at how every time something happens, Americans turn into the cast of the office pic.twitter.com/P0coDp6JfX
— | (@shOoObz) May 12, 2021
However necessary it may have been, the warning was ridiculed on Twitter.
i love posts like this because you know they made it because someone did https://t.co/Ajmvwwx0nn
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) May 12, 2021
When people ask me what it’s like living in America, I’m just going to show them this tweet and then say nothing else. https://t.co/MjtsDkv0Fs
— Caroline Feraday (@CarolineFeraday) May 12, 2021
Everyone knows paper bags are the more environmentally conscious choice. https://t.co/EFq51iHalv
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) May 12, 2021
The CPSC has issued similarly obvious messages before. When former president Donald Trump mused last year about using ultraviolet light on Covid-19 patients as a “disinfectant,” the media interpreted his comments as an endorsement of drinking bleach. The CPSC responded the following day by warning that “cleaning products are poisonous, America,” and should be kept away from kids.
The commission’s safety messages are not without a sense of humor, however. A recent warning not to “play games with power tools” featured a man locked into a game of chess against a table saw, above a serious note about the danger of free-hand cutting and “blade-contact injuries.”
Don't do it, America. pic.twitter.com/7fi6Mvarng
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) April 29, 2021
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