Adewale Sanayolu
Except urgent steps are taken, Nigerian may soon become an unsafe haven for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), sector, popularly called cooking gas over the poor safety and environmental culture prevalent in the industry.
At the peak of this concern is rising wave of cooking gas explosion across the country due to poor handling and indiscriminate construction of LPG plants, especially in residential areas.
The menace has claimed several lives, leading to the untimely deaths of adults and minors. Also not spared is the loss of properties and many business ventures with the most recent being the Kaduna gas explosion.
While many appear divided over the Kaduna incident which claimed the life of the Director General of Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), Prof Simon Mallam, the industry regulator assured that investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the incident was ongoing.
But, stakeholders in the LPG value chain have repeatedly said that the failure of the two regulatory bodies in the sector: DPR and SON remained responsible for the rise in cooking gas explosions.
More worrisome is the fact that the various safety workshops and seminars organised by different interest groups in the LPG has failed to address this concern.
Indeed, the DPR, SON, LPG marketers and retailers, have on different occasions organised capacity building programmes for its members on the safety precautions to be adopted, especially while handling highly inflammable product such as gas.
But in the midst of this danger, there are precautions that could be taken by all those involved in the handling of cooking gas in a bid to reduce the rampant cases of gas explosion to the barest minimum. One of such measures is to avoid the use of substandard cylinders, mostly produced in China and have flooded the Nigerian market in recent time.
Kaduna explosion, others
On January 4, a gas explosion occurred along Kachia Road, Sabon Tasha, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, between 2.30pm and 3.00pm.
About eight people were reported to have lost their lives, which included the Director General of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) Prof. Simon Mallam.
The NAEC DG was reported to have gone to a barber’s shop located within the premises of the retail gas outlet when the incident happened. On November 28, 2019, another explosion in Ajegunle, Apapa area of Lagos, claimed the lives of two children. The incident did not only snuff life out of those minors, it also left about 23 persons with varying degrees of burns, accompanied by the usual, unmatched excruciating pains, while several properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in the process.
Seeing the victims would make anyone cry, given how the explosion turned their bodies to shreds and they were constrained to wear bandage and plasters like a piece of overall clothing. It was somewhat a harvest of tears at the scene of the incident. Meanwhile, a gas leakage led to the incident.
Also on October 2019, there was another gas cylinder explosion at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, which left three persons injured while cars and nearby properties were vandalised.
Regulatory failure
Stakeholders have consistently blamed the DPR and SON for failing in its mandate to enforce the law by clamping down of violators. But, apart from bad cylinders that cause the explosions, one other major source of death in the LPG sector is the siting of gas plants or gas refill outlets in unauthorised places, especially in residential areas.
The Department of Petroleum Resources, the agency of government that regulates gas activities and ensures compliance with Health Safety and Environment standards in the sector, had on several occasions warned against the siting of gas stations in residential areas and unauthorised places but still, the number of unauthorized gas plants keeps growing on an annual basis.
For example, in December 2019 alone, 40 illegal gas plants were sealed in Akwa Ibom State alone by the DPR over unsafe practices. Many others in other states had equally been sealed. The Operations Controller of DPR in the state, Mr Tamunoiminabo Kingsley-Sundaye, said that people who want to do retail should look for shops that meet DPR’s requirements, get cylinders that are acceptable by the department and that the department would have to inspect it.
In another instance, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association (LPGAR) Branch of NUPENG were at logger heads over the cause of the explosion in Kaduna. While the DPR said its preliminary investigation revealed that the cause of explosion was as a result of illegal decanting (transfer) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) into another cylinder by operators of the facility, LPGAR said the disaster was as a result of acetylene and oxygen gases and not LPG as widely circulated.
LPGAR, in a statement by its Branch Secretary, Mr. Olukayode Aborisade Solomon, said investigations by the association which included pictures and videos have been able to ascertain these facts .
‘‘Acetylene and oxygen gases are used for industrial purposes and also by artisans such as blacksmiths and panel beaters. These gases are not in any way connected to LPG business. Sources of production and supply of these gasses are completely different from those of LPG. Their regulation is equally different from that of LPG (coking gas) which is one of petroleum products regulated by DPR’’ Solomon added that those dealing in those gasses have different association which is not by any means connected with LPGAR branch of NUPENG, adding that LPGAR-NUPENG also uses the opportunity to sympathise with the government and people of Kaduna State in general and particularly with the families whose members died or were injured as the result of the explosion.
Substandard cylinders
While many do not know that cylinders have expiry date and that their continued use could trigger a firebreak.
Poor safety practices and failure of the regulatory body, especially the (SON), to enforce its own safety rules and policy statements have brought about the disaster it was aiming to address. In December 2019, the SON destroyed over 5,000 substandard LPG gas cylinders worth N51.3m in Lagos, which it said were seized by the organisation during the first quarter of 2019 alone.
The destroyed cylinders, which were said to have been imported by different persons, were in different sizes; 50kg, 12.5kg, 6kg and 3kg and had branded names such as Anadolugaz, Royaltek, Setro, Repsol and Safic.
A number of locally-made and imported cylinders are substandard, the SON Director-General, Mr Osita Aboloma, who was represented by the organisation’s Director, Inspectorate and Compliance, Mr Obiora Manafa, said at the event that some of the brand new cylinders destroyed failed the agency’s mandatory test while others were not manufactured according to the expected specifications.
“We are here today to destroy all these cylinders because we cannot allow them to get into the market. They are threats to safety. They are threats to human lives and property of Nigerians. So, because we cannot burn them, we are cutting them and will thereafter send them to steel plants where they will be recycled for the manufacturing of other products.”
Safety tips
Here are a few tips on how to prevent gas cylinder explosion. Domestic gas cylinder if not well handled can lead to fatal accidents such as explosions. Therefore learning how to prevent gas cylinder explosion is important. •Keep the gas knob out of reach for children when not in use, Make sure that the kitchen or cooking area is well ventilated for a good flow of air in case of a gas leak, Educate people around you on gas cylinder safety measures and how to use and handle gas cylinders, Do not use Meko for long hours while cooking, LPG cylinders should be bought from authorized dealers only.
It’s vital to follow the guidelines and educate the elders and kids about the handling of LPG cylinder, preventive measures and do’s and don’ts in case of an emergency. However, there’s no need to be fearful of LPG cylinders as they are of high tenacity. It is by proper maintenance of gas appliances that LPG explosions can be averted.