Did you know?
​"Fuel pumps are 11,000 times dirtier than toilet seats"
​"Petrol contains the   Group 1 Human Carcinogen, Benzene"
"82% of drivers struggle to find forecourt hand-protection"

In the UK, an average fuel nozzle can be handled by over 200 people each week, each gripping it solidly for up to 3 minutes.

So if you fill up weekly, it’s like giving a long hand shake to 200 people who haven’t washed their hands.

With the global spread of Coronavirus, are your forecourts doing all they can to prevent customers spreading and contracting the virus on your sites? GripHero's best-practice hand-protection offers drivers protection at the exact point of fuel delivery.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, it is very encouraging to see the now expected standard of hygiene on forecourts dramatically increase.

However, with an increasing number of forecourts now stating they "Clean fuel-nozzles regularly", it has been highlighted by the legal industry that this is actually problematic for two reasons...

Firstly, the surface is only as clean as the last person that touched/contaminated it. Second, if it's stated that "fuel-nozzles are cleaned regularly" there’s a real danger that customers are given misguided confidence that fuel-nozzles are clean when they could be highly contaminated, and therefore choose not protect themselves at the pumps.

There is no way of proving a cleaning routine has perfectly sanitised the handle. Does this leave the site open to litigation?

It is simply impractical to expect drivers to wash their hands before and after filling up, and unsustainable for staff to clean fuel-nozzles frequently enough.

Instead, prevention of contact in the first place is the key.

This needs no explanation...

When your standard gloves spill all over the place when dislodged by other customers, or when there's a stiff breeze - they will most likely have already been touched and contaminated by other drivers (especially if other drivers have tried to stuff the multiple gloves they have just taken back into the dispenser).

If you want your sites to protect customers from COVID-19 in the best way possible, then what you see here isn't the answer.

QUESTION:
Does your own forecourt, group or network promote that you're doing "everything you can for the health, safety and well being of your customers and staff"?

If your petrol stations look like this, then your actions certainly don't yet match your words.

Best-practice protection for your customer's safety at the point of delivery is available, and in full consideration, very inexpensive (please see below).

We are here to help.

Fuel pump handles are toxic and carcinogenic.
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Here are two aspects of the contamination found on fuel pump nozzle handles that offer some fuel for thought:

1) Biological contamination

Kimberley Clark Professional carried out research in 2011 into the most unhygienic surfaces we touch. Travel Company Busbud carried out a similar study in 2016.

Right at the top of the list is the fuel pump handle (along with the fuel pump ATM-style buttons used to select fuel and pay at the pump) with over 70% of handles carrying the germs which pose a high risk of developing a serious illness.

Fuel pump handles are shown to be 11,000 times more contaminated with bacteria and viruses than a toilet seat! These germs aren't the friendly ones either - 50% are termed 'Gram-Positive Cocci'  which threaten skin conditions, toxic shock, and even illnesses becoming resistant to antibiotics, such as pneumonia (a notifiable disease).

For this level of risk to health, prevention is far better than attempting to cure. Forecourt hand-protection should be immediately to hand and unmissable.

You will never look at a fuel pump handle the same way again.

2) Chemical contamination

Benzene makes up to 1% of petrol (known as gasoline in the US, Benzina in Italy).

Benzene is a well-established cause of cancer in humans. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified benzene a Group 1 carcinogen to humans (the highest group).

The International Programme on Chemical Safety states benzene is absorbed into the body by inhalation, through the skin and by ingestion. It recommends the use of ventilation and hand-protection as preventative measures. There is no safe dose limit.

Within industrial practices, the UK Health and Safety Executive mandate that any use of benzene is subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations. And yet, the public are permitted to grip a handle for several minutes contaminated with petrol residue, and therefore potentially a small amount of benzene.

A safe pair of hands

With the intellectual property boxes ticked and insured, we are excited to see GripHero adding huge health, safety and environmental benefits around the world.

GripHero is revolutionising forecourt hand-protection with the most effortless, easy-to-use and convenient way possible for protecting drivers and keeping hands clean at the pumps - dispensing a more efficient and eco-friendly hand-protection option directly from the point of fuel delivery.

Check it out