'LPG vendors flouting EPA directive' ( Friday, Jan 1, 2010 pg 3)
Vendors of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) who deliver their services from door to door are flouting a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to ply their trade in residential areas.
According to the directive, the tankers remain a threat to life and property because they not are equipped with adequate safety gadgets in the event of a fire outbreak.
A guideline drafted by bodies including the EPA, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) on the installation and operation of LPG facilities in the country frowns on the movement and sale of LPG in residential areas.
A Daily Graphic investigations have revealed that the activities of these tankers are widespread in the major cities of the country.
Despite the enormous danger they pose to the general public, it appears there is laxity on the part of the EPA and the other stakeholders to enforce the regulation.
The main danger associated with LPG is leakage, which may result in explosion, bringing with it deadly consequences.
In February 2007, a packed bus was ripped apart and at least 26 people killed and several others injured when it collided with an LPG tanker in southern Philippines.
In the same country, in March 2008, 13 people, including two children, were wounded when another LPG tanker exploded at a roadside.
Two people lost their lives and 13 others were severely injured when an LPG gas tanker exploded in India's western Pune city on August 26, 2009.
The investigations revealed that the activities of these tankers are widespread in the major cities and towns of the country.
The operations of the tankers become even more rampant during the Christmas and New Year festivities, with a few of the tankers being spotted at different locations in Accra, Tema, Agona Swedru, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Winneba.
A vendor who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the door-to-door service was more efficient and profitable because his company was able to deal with several households and businesses within few hours, an opportunity the stationary sales points did not have.
He said he was ignorant of any directive from the EPA to the contrary.
A resident of Accra New Town, Mrs Joan Danso, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the door-to-door service relieved her of the stress she had to go through looking for a place to fill her cylinder.
“That adds extra cost to the gas because I have to pick a taxi to and back from the filling station,” she said, adding, “We cannot stop patronising the service.”
The only solution to the problem, Mrs Danso indicated, was for the authorities concerned to set a regulatory framework on safety which must be enforced vigorously, stating that she was not aware that the EPA had any dictate that was against the vendors operating in residential areas.
In contrast, a resident of Teshie Tsui Bleoo, Ms Niela Peach, expressed worry over the activities of the LPG tanker operators.
She wondered why LPG was always available to the door-to-door service providers, particularly when it was unavailable at the filling stations.
She said the tankers operated in parts of her community where an electric welding workshop was located.
“I feel petrified whenever the gas tankers come around here because the welding shop is just next door,” she said, adding that the “the situation is a disaster waiting to happen”.
“It is disturbing because public safety has priority over convenience, otherwise why do they site gas filling stations far from residential areas?” she asked.
When contacted to speak to the issue, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the EPA, Mr William Abaidoo, acknowledged the existence of the situation but said enforcing the directive had become difficult because the tankers were mobile, hence they could not be tracked easily.
He said the efforts of the EPA to tackle the problem were hampered by logistical problems, adding that there was the need for a collaborative effort on the part of the regulators to avert a potential disaster that might happen sooner or later.
Mr Abaidoo advised the public to refrain from patronising the service, stating that they should go to the stationary filling stations to buy gas to save the country a possible explosion which could cost lives.
“Environmental protection is a shared responsibility. If people stop patronising that service, it will compel the tanker owners to stop the act,” he explained.
For his part, the PRO of the GNFS, Divisional Officer (DO) Samuel Oblejumah, said even though his outfit was concerned because of the potential danger that come with LPG tankers, it could only make recommendations and educate the public, since it had no enforcement authority over the matter.
He advised the public to be careful of such tankers because “a leaked tanker produces vapour that multiplies quickly and exposure to the slightest flame can cause an explosion, with devastating consequences”.
A high-ranking source at the Police Headquarters who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity said the police could not enforce the directive because it had no binding agreement with the EPA or other regulators that empowered the police to deal with those contravening the EPA directive.
According to the directive, the tankers remain a threat to life and property because they not are equipped with adequate safety gadgets in the event of a fire outbreak.
A guideline drafted by bodies including the EPA, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) on the installation and operation of LPG facilities in the country frowns on the movement and sale of LPG in residential areas.
A Daily Graphic investigations have revealed that the activities of these tankers are widespread in the major cities of the country.
Despite the enormous danger they pose to the general public, it appears there is laxity on the part of the EPA and the other stakeholders to enforce the regulation.
The main danger associated with LPG is leakage, which may result in explosion, bringing with it deadly consequences.
In February 2007, a packed bus was ripped apart and at least 26 people killed and several others injured when it collided with an LPG tanker in southern Philippines.
In the same country, in March 2008, 13 people, including two children, were wounded when another LPG tanker exploded at a roadside.
Two people lost their lives and 13 others were severely injured when an LPG gas tanker exploded in India's western Pune city on August 26, 2009.
The investigations revealed that the activities of these tankers are widespread in the major cities and towns of the country.
The operations of the tankers become even more rampant during the Christmas and New Year festivities, with a few of the tankers being spotted at different locations in Accra, Tema, Agona Swedru, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Winneba.
A vendor who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the door-to-door service was more efficient and profitable because his company was able to deal with several households and businesses within few hours, an opportunity the stationary sales points did not have.
He said he was ignorant of any directive from the EPA to the contrary.
A resident of Accra New Town, Mrs Joan Danso, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the door-to-door service relieved her of the stress she had to go through looking for a place to fill her cylinder.
“That adds extra cost to the gas because I have to pick a taxi to and back from the filling station,” she said, adding, “We cannot stop patronising the service.”
The only solution to the problem, Mrs Danso indicated, was for the authorities concerned to set a regulatory framework on safety which must be enforced vigorously, stating that she was not aware that the EPA had any dictate that was against the vendors operating in residential areas.
In contrast, a resident of Teshie Tsui Bleoo, Ms Niela Peach, expressed worry over the activities of the LPG tanker operators.
She wondered why LPG was always available to the door-to-door service providers, particularly when it was unavailable at the filling stations.
She said the tankers operated in parts of her community where an electric welding workshop was located.
“I feel petrified whenever the gas tankers come around here because the welding shop is just next door,” she said, adding that the “the situation is a disaster waiting to happen”.
“It is disturbing because public safety has priority over convenience, otherwise why do they site gas filling stations far from residential areas?” she asked.
When contacted to speak to the issue, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the EPA, Mr William Abaidoo, acknowledged the existence of the situation but said enforcing the directive had become difficult because the tankers were mobile, hence they could not be tracked easily.
He said the efforts of the EPA to tackle the problem were hampered by logistical problems, adding that there was the need for a collaborative effort on the part of the regulators to avert a potential disaster that might happen sooner or later.
Mr Abaidoo advised the public to refrain from patronising the service, stating that they should go to the stationary filling stations to buy gas to save the country a possible explosion which could cost lives.
“Environmental protection is a shared responsibility. If people stop patronising that service, it will compel the tanker owners to stop the act,” he explained.
For his part, the PRO of the GNFS, Divisional Officer (DO) Samuel Oblejumah, said even though his outfit was concerned because of the potential danger that come with LPG tankers, it could only make recommendations and educate the public, since it had no enforcement authority over the matter.
He advised the public to be careful of such tankers because “a leaked tanker produces vapour that multiplies quickly and exposure to the slightest flame can cause an explosion, with devastating consequences”.
A high-ranking source at the Police Headquarters who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity said the police could not enforce the directive because it had no binding agreement with the EPA or other regulators that empowered the police to deal with those contravening the EPA directive.
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