June 24, 1999
Web posted at: 10:08 PM EDT (0208 GMT)

HOUSTON (CNN) -- Citing an "extremely unlikely" risk of explosion, Exxon has mailed information to 8,500 Exxon service stations nationwide to warn against using cellular telephones near gas pumps.

The company has sent out warning information to its nationwide network of company-owned and privately owned stations. Mailing began in early June, according to Exxon USA spokesman Bob Davis, and includes decals to be posted on gas pumps.

The decals add a "No Cell phones" edict to the now-universal "No Smoking" signs on display at self-service gas pumps. Use of the decals is voluntary for use at privately owned Exxon franchises, but will be mandatory at the roughly 800 dealerships owned by the Exxon Corporation.

Exxon decided to take the precautionary action despite the absence of any confirmed incidents linking cell phones to service station explosions. One such incident in Indonesia was reported in Asian news media last year, but has not been fully corroborated.

Davis said Exxon's action was prompted by warnings received from "several" cell phone manufacturers, but he declined to name the companies involved. A Motorola cell phone owner's manual includes a warning against using cell phones near flammable objects.

Concerns focus on the possibility that a cell phone's battery could spark and ignite gasoline fumes if the cell phone were dropped in proximity to a gas pump.

Davis said Exxon did not yet have a clear idea of how station operators are responding to the warning information.

Denise McCourt of the American Petroleum Institute said she is not aware of plans by any other gasoline retailers to follow suit. "There's no question we are concerned," she said, "But we have no evidence of any incidents involving cell phones" sparking explosions at gasoline stations.

Spokespeople for the Cellular Telephone Industry Association in Washington did not respond to several telephone calls. In the mid-90s, the cell phone industry was rocked by reports linking use of cellular telephones to various cancers. No conclusive information was ever presented to prove the cancer claims.