Abstract
Concern has been expressed about the pressure build-up within the plastic bags used for handling and storing gases. In this experiment, a large plastic bag was supported in three different positions, and the pressure within the bag and the volume of air contained in the bag were accurately measured as the bag was filled. The pressure within the bag remains close enough to atmospheric that corrections would be negligible for engineering calculations until the bag becomes extremely taut. The position of the bag does cause a change in the pressure-volume characteristics. The pressure within the bag shows good agreement with that which can be calculated when the weight of the plastic material used for construction of the bag is known.