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Tag: gas cylinders

  • ‘Be mentally alert when handling gas cylinders’

    ‘Be mentally alert when handling gas cylinders’

    Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) yesterday set safety standards for retail gas operators, by telling them to be mentally alert anytime they are handling gas cylinders.

    Director-General Lanre Mojola, in his keynote address at a two-day training programme organised by the commission in Ikeja, said this became necessary because “failure to put safety first in everything we do can end up in disaster. It can lead to loss of lives and property.”

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    He said the programme was organised to find solution to incessant gas explosions and fire incidents, often leading to loss of lives and property.

    The Director, Inspectorate and Monitoring, LSSC, Mr Babatunde Ashiyanbi, said the training was organised to sensitise retailers on the safety acts and conditions required to prevent and control gas explosion.

    The National Chairman, Liquid and Petroleum Gas Retailers Association, Ayobami Olarinmoye, hailed the commission’s action, especially its regular training for their members.

  • Smart Gas empowers community, donates 370 gas cylinders

    Smart Gas empowers community, donates 370 gas cylinders

    As part of efforts to maintain environmental cleanliness and sustainable society, Smart Gas Foundation Community Project recently donated 370 gas cylinders to families in Lagos community.

    Tagged: ‘Trash to gas’ the event held at Odiolowo/Ojuwoye LCDA community Mushin Lagos, had hundreds of residents of Bales, chiefs community leaders,  market leaders, women, families and youths at the official launch.

    The residents were given tools, hand gloves, nylons to get and separate the recycling materials in exchange for a  3kg filled gas cylinder each, even they cleaned  the environment and others went in search for plastics, pure water, food take away-packs, sachets, containers, and empty can drinks affecting the gutters. 

    The campaign according to organisers is to ensure that people living in slums stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainage that can cause devastating impact of flooding in the rainy seasons.

    Speaking at the event, the CEO Smart Gas, Dr. Yinka Opeke said: “the trash to gas campaign is to promote the use of cooking gas as a safer alternative to kerosene, firewood and charcoal.

    “We are educating you on the importance of living in a cleaner and healthier environment. The use of firewood and charcoal for cooking, not only impacts our environment negatively due to the emissions; but also your health because of the smoke inhaled mostly by women and children.”

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    Opeke further said: “this trash for gas campaign further reinforces our focus as a company and the practical steps that we take in supporting our operations. The Trash for Gas campaign addresses these challenges because we will be exchanging your trash for our cylinder and gas thereby leaving you with a healthier and cleaner neighbourhood.

    “There is need for aggressive enlightenment campaigns and advocacy to educate people on the benefit of maintaining a clean and healthy environment. This event is a wake-up call for everyone, to see the damage that we’re exposing ourselves to by littering our environments with trash and using firewood and charcoal.”

    In his words, Chairman, Odiolowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area, Hon Rasaq Ajala said that the essence of the initiative is to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment by promoting sanitation in our community.”

    ‘The trash to gas campaign is another way to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal,” he said.

    The council boss also commended Smart Gas for choosing Odiolowo/Ojuwoye community for the project, particularly now that the government has removed fuel subsidy.

    He promise to consolidate on the gains made by the foundation, stressing that the community will be mobilise to sustain the massive environmental cleaning project.

  • Inferior gas cylinders

    •A call for more vigilance to Standards Organisation of Nigeria

    The danger of cooking gas cylinder explosion has increased in the country with the importation of substandard cylinders. In August, cooking gas cylinder explosion in Warri almost killed a couple, but for the quick intervention of the police and fire fighters, and proximity of the explosion to the police station. And in China, the country’s CCTV also reported gas cylinder explosions in March and April in Xianyang City and in Wuxi, Jiangsu.

    We find the existence of substandard cooking gas cylinders very alarming. It is counterproductive that at a time that the population, especially in both urban and rural areas, is increasingly warming up to transition from cooking with wood to gas, the conditions for importing cooking gas cylinders seem to have become lax to the point that cylinders without brand name and batch number are now common in the country. The fear of cylinder explosion is capable of driving citizens back to the tradition of deforestation and its negative impact on the environment.

    It is embarrassing that the in-flow of substandard cylinders has reached a level that compels staff of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to go to markets in search of substandard gas cylinders. The danger posed by defective cooking gas cylinders is serious enough for SON and the Customs to stop such products at the ports of entry. SON’s vigilance would be more effective if its mobile laboratory at the ports had tested every batch of imported cylinders into the country. This is an assignment that could have been carried out in collaboration with other safety and security units that are always present at the ports.

    Further, marketers who are frustrating SON’s staff from looking for cylinders without batch numbers are not helping matters. Government at all times has the duty to ensure that  substandard products do not thrive in the country, even if after such products had gotten through the ports without detection. Such belated checks are better than leaving citizens and their property at the mercy of imported or even domestic products that could be dangerous to life and property of citizens. Retailers of such products ought to be sensitive to the well-being of their customers.

    Relatedly, government and other stakeholders should begin massive enlightenment on how to distinguish good from bad gas cylinders, and give retailers and users adequate information about the danger in holding on to products that are dangerous to individuals and the community. It is one thing for a country to find a dumping ground for substandard products from its factories, but it is expected that the citizens, especially those in the business of importing such defective products, will be mindful of quality and safety of such products, before marketing them to innocent buyers.

    Indeed, it is high time the local manufacturing by Techno Oil Ltd of Nigeria’s TechnoGas LPG cylinders at the 31st World LPG Forum in Houston, Texas is developed to include production of cooking gas cylinders that citizens can buy without fear of causing fire to its users. The SON needs to give as much attention to certifying the Nigerian brand as it does to imported brands from China and elsewhere.

    Nigeria, among other developing countries, cannot afford to lose the war on deforestation arising from reliance on wood and charcoal as fuel for cooking. The most effective way to win this war and protect citizens from avoidable harm is to ensure that cooking gas cylinders in the country meet global quality and safety standards.

  • Gas cylinders fall on tricycle as trailer runs into ditch

    A gas cylinder-laden trailer yesterday fell into a ditch, spilling its content on a tricycle at Matori, Mushin, Lagos.

    The trailer, marked Lagos MUS -356 XD, was trying to negotiate the Ladipo round-about on Fatai Atere Way, Matori when the accident occurred around 3.28pm.

    The scene was cordoned off. Motorists and Okada riders resorted to alternative routes.

    The Nation learnt that the owner of the tricycle marked JJJ 12 QE took it on installment plan from a micro finance bank barely a month ago.

    Men from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Response Unit came with a crane to remove the trailer from the ditch.

    Lagos State Fire Fighters also came to the scene.

    The tricycle owner, Mr Raimi Atanda, said: “I was inside my tricycle. I was coming from Cappa to Daleko. A car in front blocked me. I just heard a loud sound. Immediately I ran away; my passengers also ran away. I came back and saw the damage done to my tricycle.

    “I just got the tricycle not up to a month on installment basis. The gas company will have to buy another. I don’t think we can repair this.”

  • Gas cylinders: Danger signs to watch

    I never planned for this story, at least not for this week. I was already engrossed in another story, till I went to fix my hair  off Toyin Street, Ikeja last Tuesday.

    Driving close to her place, I saw fire and thick smoke going up with people running helter skelter trying to get water, fire extinguishers, sand, or anything just to help put out the fire. Parking my car far from the scene and alighting down I saw it was a twin duplex that was burning.

    Temporary forgetting my mission to the area, and as the link road leading to my destination was blocked by the mammoth crowd, I walked towards the crowd to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    Of course, people had different stories to tell but what resonated in all the conversations I heard was the fact that the fire was probably caused by an explosion from a cooking gas cylinder.

    As we were still talking, officials of the Fire Service arrived though by then, the building had been razed down by the inferno. Thinking of the cylinder explosion, I immediately recalled an incident I observed recently.

    Just about two weeks ago, I went to a gas depot at Oregun, Ikeja to refill my cooking gas cylinder. Driving into the expansive compound, I saw about 40 old empty gas cylinders of different sizes that must have long passed their expiry dates displayed for sale.

    Walking towards them, I noticed they were all rusted and old. So old that one cannot decipher the original colors of the cylinders. Will anyone be so ignorant as to purchase any of these and what trader will be so callous as to sell such time bomb to anyone I wondered quietly as I inspected the cylinders to confirm the expiry date. That of course proved impossible as I could not make out the letters because of the rust.

    Sighting a salesman hovering around, I asked him the cost of the cylinders. Obviously thinking I wanted to buy from the cylinders, he eagerly explained that the 25kg empty cylinder was selling for N12,000, while the 12.5kg sells for N7,000 and the 5kg and 3kg cylinders were selling for N5,000 and N2,000 respectively.

    Meanwhile the price for the brand new ones depending on the brand is between N15,000-N17,000 for the 25kg empty cylinder while the 12.5kg cost about N10,000. The 5kg cost about N7,000 and the 3kg brand new cylinder is about N5,000.

    Still examining the rusted cylinders, I asked the salesman how the company was sourcing the products. Declining to respond and referring me to the company’s manager, he asked if I had any used cylinder for sale.

    Before I could even respond to his question, to my dismay, a man drove in to buy from the rusted cylinders. Halting him before he could make payment, I told him, he was endangering his life and many other lives in his environment by using an expired gas cylinder.

    Looking me straight in the eyes, he said there was absolutely nothing wrong with buying an already used cylinder.

    “Cylinders do not expire. They are made with iron,” he said, adding sarcastically that if I were so concerned that I should purchase brand new ones for him.

    Many people have cylinders as old as 20 years in their homes. It never occurs to people that gas cylinders expire and when it does, it results in leakage that can lead to explosion.

    There have been many cases of gas cylinder explosions and when this happens, lives are lost and properties worth millions are also lost in the fire inferno that follows.

    “If a cylinder of 12kg explodes, it is capable of bringing down a two storey building,” said the State Coordinator, Standard Organisation of Nigeria [SON], Joseph Ugbaja.

    Pressed further, he said: “Cooking gas cylinders must not exceed five years.”

    According to the SON Director, most people using gas cylinders hardly remember when it was bought.

    LPG cylinder is an essential component of our kitchen, and almost every home owns it.

    Available easily in the market, the LPG cylinder can be used further by refilling, but that is not the case always.

    The LPG being used at homes comes with an expiry date which many are certainly unaware of it.

    Once the cylinder is past the expiry date, one must stop using it. But most people have no idea how to check the expiry date of the cylinder.

    The steps to check the expiry date are very simple and basic.

    Signs to watch

    The expiry of LPG Cylinder can be found on one of the metal strips that connect the body of the cylinder to top ring (handle). It is mentioned on the inner side of the strip. The strip has any of the alphabets from A to D painted on it along with a number. Decoding the expiry date is simple. The alphabet represents the month it expires while the number indicates the year. A year is divided into four quarters –

    • A – January to March
    • B – April to June
    • C – July to                  September
    • D – October to                  December

    For example, your cylinder has ‘A 182  painted on the metal strip. The alphabet A represents month March, and 18 indicates the year 2018. So a cylinder having A 18 mentioned on it means it will expire on March 2018. However, there is a limited grace period of three to four months after the expiry as the cylinder cannot be pulled out immediately out of the circulation. There have been reports that distributors tamper with the expiry date as it is written with paint. So next time you receive a cylinder do check the expiry date and stay safe.

  • Council distributes gas cylinders to residents

    Council distributes gas cylinders to residents

    Mindful of the negative impacts which unchecked environmental degradation have had on our environment, governments and groups the world over have come to terms with the need to prevent or mitigate their effects for a safer world. One of the means through which man harms the environment is through felling of trees for charcoal for cooking.

    A United Nations’ Conference on the Human Environment notes that “a time has come in history when we must shape our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference, we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well-being depend.

    “Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posterity a better life in keeping with human needs and hopes…”

    Efforts are therefore being made by government to find ways of mitigating or preventing actions that would have uncomplimentary impacts on the environment and the well-being of mankind.

    This may have informed the Lagos State Government’s efforts towards ensuring cleaner and safer environment through the Eko Gas initiative through which it makes available portable gas cylinders to residents of the state.

    Determined to ensure that residents embrace the use of cooking gas as against charcoal, the state government makes the facility available to all the local government areas for distribution.

    •Samples of the Eko Gas cylinders
    •Samples of the Eko Gas cylinders

    Recently, it was the turn of Oriade Local Council Development Area where the Eko Gas cylinders were distributed to residents of the council.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Secretary of the council, Hon. Bola Badmus-Olujobi noted that the programme was initiated and launched by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to promote a cleaner and healthier environment for residents of the state.

    On the benefits derivable from the cooking gas cylinder, she said: “The liquefied cooking gas cylinder has lots of advantages over the traditional systems of cooking such as firewood, coal and electricity. It is cheaper, cooks faster, safer, portable, healthier and cleaner.

    “In view of its effectiveness and efficiency, it has been adopted by developed and developing countries the world over. There is no gainsaying that Lagos State Government, being a pace-setter in matters concerning the welfare of its citizens, has equally adopted and is promoting the use of the liquefied cooking gas cylinder by the residents at the grassroots.”

    She urged beneficiaries to use the cooking gas cylinders as instructed by the manufacturers, saying “you have no need to ignorantly abandon, sell or rent them out to your disadvantage”.

    Also speaking, the representative of the Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Adeniyi Steven said there was the need to create awareness on the benefits of the use of cooking gas.

    He also said the use of cooking gas will reduce the heat that emit from kerosene stoves, even as he added that it will also ensure healthy living condition as our kitchens where meals are prepared will be clean enough; it will reduce soot and carbon emissions and general air pollution.

    He further said: “Scientists have also indicated that cooking gas has no adverse impact on the environment compared with the traditional energy sources such as fuel wood and coal. With the use of kerosene, women and children are directly exposed to pollution.”

    Noting that it requires rigorous sensitisation for people to key into the campaign on clean environment, Mr Steven said “educating Nigerians on the need to switch to this clean and abundant energy service is very necessary for Nigerians, especially women to adopt the cooking gas as their energy service for all their domestic energy needs.

    He further said with the use of cooking gas, there would be less attack on the environment. He, however, expressed his confidence that with “government’s efforts towards cleaner environment, we are sure that adequate sensitisation on the need for people to adopt cooking gas as suitable alternative source of energy for domestic use will be sustained. Fears on the part of some landlords concerning the use of cooking gas are unfounded as most often, fire outbreaks are as a result of improper installation.”

    High points of the event were demonstration by Mr Steven on how to assemble the cylinder for use and for safety and distribution of the cooking gas cylinders to beneficiaries.

  • Fed Govt may revive gas cylinders firms

    THE Federal Government is planning to revive the Nigerian Cylinder Manufacturing Company and Midland Cylinder Manufacturing Company, the President, Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), Dapo Adesina, has said.

    Their planned revival is to boost the production of new gas cylinders ahead of the phase out of old cylinders by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). Adesina said the revival of the  firms located in Ibadan, Oyo State and Abeokuta, Ogun State, would help in implementing the policy.

    He said the SON and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) would find it difficult to achieve the policy until the firms were revived.

    He said: “We had talks with the governments on issues affecting the liquefied petroleum gas sub-sector and we were told that plans to revamp the companies were underway. The government is taking a holistic approach to revive the companies by addressing problems, such as power and materials.

    ‘’It would be difficult to regulate those that are selling sub-standard gas cylinders when we cannot produce them locally.”

    He said the cost of procuring steel, power and other components used in producing cylinders is high, adding that the development resulted in the closure of the companies.

    “The companies have divested into areas where they hope to get comparative advantage since it was not economical for them to produce gas cylinders. For them to produce gas cylinders again, the bottlenecks must be removed,” he added.

    According to him, the gains of removing the old cylinders from the market will be immediate giving the problems in the oil and gas sector.  He said it had been difficult getting the required gas for domestic market, adding that the issue has multiplier effects on the economy.

    Adesina said SON is required to monitor the marketers of gas cylinders and further ensure that they comply with the policy.

    Efforts to get Bede Obayi, the Head of Enforcement, SON, to comment on the issue proved abortive as the phone calls and short messages sent to him were not replied.

  • Lagos distribute free gas cylinders to residents

    Lagos distribute free gas cylinders to residents

    There was excitement yesterday on the faces of many residents of Ginti Ewu Elepe’ in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

    They will no longer cook with firewood and kerosine stoves courtesy of Governor Babatunde fashola, who gave them 3 kg gas cylunders.

    It was all at the launch of the 33,000 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Skid Plant in Ikorodu. Fashola said the development was part of the government’s effort in phasing out kerosene stove in the state.

    The governor who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, reiterated government’s commitment to shoreing up gas infrastructure in the state, saying this would ensure that large percentage of Nigerians use cooking gas.

    He said Nigeria is the highest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas in Africa yet the lowest when it comes to per capital consumption.

    Fashola explained that cooking gas represents clean and efficient burning of fuel, adding that the state is partnering with Oando and Banner Gas to ensure that the 3kilogram gas cylinders are made available to all residents in all the 57 local governments and local council development areas.

    He noted that with the flag-off, residents of the area can now buy cooking gas for as low as N100, adding that cooking gas is not as dangerous as many have portrayed it. It promotes cleaner environment, he said.

    The governor called on businessmen who may be interested in investing to look at possibilities of setting similar plants which could be in smaller capacity across the state.

    Earlier, Managing Director Banner Gas, Mr. Nuhu Yakubu, said the project was the second in the series of projects outlined by the state for October, which has been classified as Energy Month.

    He said the Lagos state government pioneered the use of gas to light up selected streets through the Lagos State Electricity Distribution Board.

    The Skid Plant is fitted with automated dispensing meter, a 33,000 tank and other accessories.