The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has cautioned the general public against the use of refurbished Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.
The caution was in reaction to activities of some unscrupulous persons who went round (sometimes to dumping sites) to collect or cheaply buy damaged or old and worn-out LPG cylinders.
The Director of Public Relation of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Grade One (ACFO 1) Timothy Osafo-Affum in a statement issued in Accra on Friday, described such cylinders as abrasively and adhesively treated, ripped metal parts welded together, sprayed and taken to the open market for sale and use by the unsuspecting LPG users.
The GNFS said the act was not only illegal, criminal and dangerous, but also posed risk of gas leakage from the low resistance points on the cylinder body when filled with LPG adding “Such cylinders also stand the risk of explosion.”
According to the statement, damaged, old, rusted and expired LPG cylinders constituted as hazardous waste and were not to be disposed off as general waste or discarded in public places or refuse collection points.
“All such worn-out cylinders are to be taken to outlets of registered gas supply companies, distributors or LPG recycling centers or plants,” it stated.
The GNFS advised the general public to always look out for the manufacturer details thus, the serial number of the cylinder, weight class, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) number, test pressure and particularly the date of manufacture on the cylinder body when buying LPG cylinders from the market.
Also purchasing of LPG cylinders was to be made from only registered or authorised dealers to ensure safety of lives at homes and work places.
The GNFS further implored the general public to assist with information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such criminal and dangerous activity by law enforcers.
BY ANITA ANKRAH
