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Louis Ibah
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has called for proper regulation of the sales of industrial gases following the recent gas explosion in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State
The union’s executive secretary, Mr. Bassey Essien, in a statement in Lagos, commiserated with families of those who lost their lives in the January 4, 2020 incident.
Chairman, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Prof. Simon Mallam and his son with three other persons were killed in the explosion.
Essien faulted claims that the explosion occurred at an LPG (cooking gas) retailing facility, noting that the cylinders involved contained acetylene gas used for industrial purposes by welders and artisans.
“The operations of cooking gas filling plants are highly regulated and monitored by statutory government agencies.
“LPG marketing companies in the country are duly licensed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and have put in place measures to self regulate members to ensure the industry operates within prescribed safety standards and procedures.
“Just as the DPR monitors and regulates the LPG filling plants, same should be extended to other inflammable products too such as acetylene and industrial gases.
“Failure to do this and the frequent misrepresentation in the media attributing acetylene explosions to cooking gas will erode consumers’ confidence in the use of LPG and heighten the fear factor that cooking gas usage is unsafe.
“The safety of lives and properties of Nigerians are very dear to us. Filling and retailing of industrial gases have to be stoutly monitored,” he said
