Heathrow Harry: that is not so. The risk is
small (actually vanishingly small) but it is there. There
have been ignitions on retail forecourts. Commercially available Mobile phones are not intrinsically safe and non "Ex" devices are banned in refineries and terminal process areas.
Yes, you have to try really hard to ignite fuel in a vehicle tank (and it usually happens from static from the phone across the filler neck rather than RF into vapour) but as an ex-oil company HSE person who investigated several retail site fires I assure you the risk is always there.
UKPIA - Refining Britain's Fuels - Mobile Phones on Filling Station Forecourts sums it up (the Energy Institute is the former Institute of Petroleum).
Rob (Member: Energy Institute)
NONE of the incidents on forecourts was due to the mobile phones this is stated in the report you provide.
Jet A does NOT lead to an 'explosive mixture' on an open pan in the same way that gasoline or AvGas conceivably might close to a refuelling hose.
Almost all the staff working around the aircraft now use handheld radios which are also not rated for within 'explosive mixture' environments.
Perhaps less concern should be given to 'vanishingly small' (unquote) possibilities of a smart phone causing a fire if they can obviate real proven risks.
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