Butane Or Lp Gas Meters
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Furnishings & Fixtures · CPSC Code 623
Down 37% over 5 years
The verdict
Butane Or Lp Gas Meters carry a danger score of 29/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 146 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 37% over the last five years.
- 29/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 146
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 11.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 623 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 29/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for butane or lp gas meters - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume146 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)11.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-37%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Butane Or Lp Gas Meters (CPSC product code 623, in the Home Furnishings & Fixtures category) generate an estimated 146 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 2,626 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 29/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 37% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2016 (403 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2012 (22 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for butane or lp gas meters is laceration to the head, accounting for approximately 340 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (317 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 544 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 11.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how butane or lp gas meters fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 115 | 89 | |
| 5-14 | 410 | 134 | |
| 15-24 | 139 | 0 | |
| 25-34 | 86 | 243 | |
| 35-44 | 260 | 85 | |
| 45-54 | 206 | 182 | |
| 55-64 | 175 | 0 | |
| 65-74 | 48 | 110 | |
| 75+ | 187 | 160 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Electric Shock | |
| Face | Hemorrhage | |
| Head | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
40YOF S/P MVA ROLLOVER, RESTRAINED DRIVER TRAVELING APPROX 40MPH WHEN SHE RAN OFF THE ROAD TO AVOID AN ANIMAL THAT RAN INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND SHE HIT A GAS METER, +AIRBAGS, NO BAC COLLECTED, DX: CERVICAL STRAIN, RT ANKLE LACERATION
40YOF STATES SHE STEPPED ON A RAISED METER IN HER YARD AND ROLLED HER FOOT TO THE SIDE DX LT FOOT PAIN
48YOM PT USING AN ELECTRIC METER TO MEASURE LIVE CIRCUITS (120 V HOME) & GOT SHOCKED DX: ELECTRIC SHOCK, ELEVATED LFT'S #
39YOM PRESENTS WITH ALTERED MENTAL STATUS AFTER A NATURAL GAS LEAK WAS FOUND IN THE HOME LEAKING FROM A UTILITY METER THAT HAD JUST BEEN CHANGED, CARBOXYHEMOGLOBIN=9.6 DX: ALTERED MENTAL STATUS
30YOF PATIENT REPORTS SHE WAS AT A CONCERT, SHE STARTED RUNNING BACKWARDS WHEN SHE TRIPPED AND FELL LANDING ON A METAL GAS METER, BACK PAIN, BRUISING AND TENDERNESS TO HER ARMS AND MIDLINE THORACIC BACK DX: ECCHYMOSIS, ACUTE MIDLINE LOW BACK PAIN WITHOUT SCIATICA
9YOM RAN INTO A GAS METER HITTING HIS HEAD. DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, LACERATION SCALP.
53YOF HIT FACE ON GAS METER YESTERDAY; LAC LT NOSTRIL DURING FALL, BUT BLEEDING FROM RT NOSTRIL DX: EPISTAXIS $
73YOF, TRIPPED&FELL WHILE WALKING OUTSIDE HITTING HEAD ONTO THE GAS METER THEN DOWN TO GROUND DX: SCALP LACERATION, CLAVICLE FRACTURE
10 YOM AT FRIENDS HOUSE PLAYING OUTSIDE IN SNOW FELL HIT CHIN ON GAS METER DX LACERATION
3YOF MOTHER STATES CHILD FELL AND HIT HEAD ON A GAS METER AT HOMEDX CLOSED HEAD INJURY W/O LOC, FACIAL CONTUSION
81YOM WAS BENDING OVER TO GET UMBRELLA LOST BALANCE, FELL AND HIT HEAD ON GAS METER DX: SCALP LACERATION AND SCALP CONTUSION
44YOM AT 0955 WAS CHANGING METERS WHEN BITTEN ON THE RIGHT THUMB BY AN APPROX 12 INCH RATTLESNAKE. *** FIRE DEPT CONFIRMED THIS WAS A RATTLESNAKE AS THEY CAUGHT THE SNAKE. MINIMAL PAIN IN RIGHT THUMB CURRENTLY. DX: RATTLESNAKE BITE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to butane or lp gas meters on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are butane or lp gas meters?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, butane or lp gas meters have a danger score of 29/100 (low risk). An estimated 146 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from butane or lp gas meters?
The most common injury is laceration to the head, accounting for approximately 340 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from butane or lp gas meters increasing or decreasing?
Down 37% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for butane or lp gas meters injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 544 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by butane or lp gas meters?
Of all ER visits involving butane or lp gas meters, approximately 11.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (88.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with butane or lp gas meters?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Furnishings & Fixtures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 29/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
