Fires and explosions from PAM cooking oil spray have been seriously injuring consumers across the U.S. for years. The manufacturer, ConAgra, promotes PAM’s cooking oil as having “100% natural” ingredients, which actually include highly flammable petroleum-based propellants such as propane, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas or butane.
Aerosol cans have been known to burst in extreme heat, however, defective design, over-pressurization, and highly flammable contents are also among the contributing factors in these incidents. One of the biggest causes of these aerosol can explosions might be a design flaw. Vents at the bottom of the large-sized two-piece canisters that were meant to reduce pressure and prevent explosions have been found in tests to release flammable gas and cause flash fires near heat or open flames. These cans can also vent at temperatures and pressures below those expected to cause venting, and if the cans contain too much pressure, they can explode unexpectedly and burn anyone nearby.
