Action
Safety advisory notice.
Summary
This is to notify the public that RSPA and the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (OIG) are investigating the unauthorized marking of high-pressure compressed gas cylinders by Bev Con International (Bev Con), 6400 and 6420 Highway 51 South, Brighton, Tennessee. Bev Con is also known as or has done business as Bev-con, BCI Inc., BCI Industries and BCI Industries, Inc. All companies are located at the Brighton, Tennessee address listed above. RSPA and the OIG have determined that Bev Con marked and certified an undetermined number of cylinders with invalid Retester Identification Numbers (RINs), apparently without conducting hydrostatic retests of the cylinders in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). The cylinders at issue are mostly used in the beverage service industry. On December 13, 2001, a Federal Grand Jury in Tennessee handed down a 31-count indictment against Bev Con and two of its principals. The indictment includes charges for the unauthorized cylinder marking described in this safety advisory. A hydrostatic retest and visual inspection, conducted as prescribed in the HMR, are used to verify the structural integrity of a cylinder. If the hydrostatic retest and visual inspection are not performed in accordance with the HMR, a cylinder with compromised structural integrity may be returned to service when it should be condemned. Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could result from rupture of a cylinder. Cylinders that have not been retested in accordance with the HMR may not be charged or filled with compressed gas or other hazardous material.