A boat owner noticed something frightening happening with their onboard gas tank: It had started to swell in the hot sun.
They posted on Reddit with a photo of the ballooning tank, writing: "Is there a way to keep this from expanding? Is there a way to vent?"
Looking at the photo, one commenter observed: "This looks dangerous."
They're correct. Having a pressurized fuel tank is one of the last things any boat owner would want onboard — and unfortunately, there's no simple solution to the issue.
Previous versions of fuel tanks like this one were double-vented, allowing for the escape of gas vapors. Unfortunately, scientists found that these vapors contain a number of dangerous, carcinogenic substances that endanger the health of the people exposed to them, according to the National Library of Medicine. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that new mandatory gas cap designs must not be double-vented, therefore limiting the release of these vapors.
Unfortunately, while well intentioned, the new version is just as dangerous.
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The current style of caps allows air into the tank to ventilate it as it empties, but they don't allow the release of air. Some styles don't have any ventilation at all. And without release vents, tanks fill with pressurized vapors. Add hot sun into the mix, and the vapors expand even more.
Other commenters had encountered similarly dangerous situations. One warned: "I have seen some of these fuel tanks explode because all fuel tank manufacturers can no longer legally make vents for them like they use to."
"A pressurized fuel container causes all sorts of safety risks compared to a vented tank," agreed another.
Between carcinogenic vapors and pressurized canisters, there's no ideal solution for boat owners … of course, other than using a nonmotorized boat.
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It's a similar situation facing many car owners: The reduction of harmful dirty energy pollutants is just one of the many reasons that more people are choosing to switch to electric vehicles (or even no vehicles).
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