Leaking Gas Cylinders – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire Frequent complaints about 20-pound tanks
Senior Multimedia Journalist
joshua.seemungal@guardian.co.tt
In the first part of our investigative report ‘Leaking Gas Cylinders – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’ yesterday, the Trinidad Guardian told the personal stories of people injured by fires caused by leaking 20-pound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.
The Guardian sought answers from National Petroleum (NP) about claims that some of its LPG 20lb tanks are leaking. The state company acknowledged that they receive “reports from time to time about leaks” but suggested the issues were likely resulting from accessories such as faulty regulators, after defending its quality assurance system.
In part two of the investigation, Guardian Media speaks with fire officers, examines the standards in place for LPG tanks and accessories, and discusses the issue with industry sources and you, the public.
Fire officers: Faulty tanks a common complaint
Guardian Media spoke with a couple senior fire officers off the record and they said fires as a result of leaking gas cylinders have been a common reason for emergency calls and that they have been getting a lot of them. One of them said he was injured in one such incident. However, they could not confirm if the number of incidents has increased this year.
Public complaints
about leaks
Several members of the public have taken to social media recently to complain about their experiences with leaking tanks. The Guardian collated the comments on some of those incidents.
Carol Rampersad: “Yes. Of lately I started smelling the gas scent. Most times when I turned it on to use the stove. It’s an awful scent.”
Ronald Hosein: “This same thing happened to me. However, I smelled the gas in time.”
Sharon Mohammed: “I have the same problem and they saying the gas head is bad.”
Elsa St Clair: “I experienced that this week. I know it’s the tank because I got another one and it works fine.”
June Sewlal: “Yes, I put on a tank and in one week my gas finished. Total madness.”
Aurora Saphire: “Yes, I have been experiencing leakage, until I did further investigations thinking it was my regulator, but it wasn’t. It was the gas head and the gas don’t even last as long as it used to because of that.”
Michelle JB: “Yes, I wrote to them about this. Every time a tank is bought, I’m having this problem.”
Sean Mitchell: “I had got one once that had no seal.”
Nadia Gangaram: “This happens to me most times.”
Shaquanda Greene-Noel: “I changed the head, hose and gas tank twice and this is still happening.”
Janice Pabaroo: “Yes, there’s a gas scent and the gas is finishing much quicker than usual.”
Kavita Baldeosingh: “We had the same problems with three tanks purchased thus far over a couple of months.”
Vanessa Gaiton: “I bought a tank of gas three Sundays ago and by Friday evening, the tank was empty.”
Nigel Jairam: “Yes, this is true. Gas finishes so fast.”
Arlene Dudley-Walker: “But just last week I changed a tank because of this same problem.”
Triz Zy: “This is happening to me. I changed the tank twice and same thing. I have to turn off the stove immediately after use or else the entire place is smelling like gas.”
Sunita Ramroop: “It’s happening right now as I speak, so I have to always remember to lock off the valve or else the whole kitchen would smell bad!”
Myrsha Richardson: “This is happening to me right about now. Every day I have been smelling the gas.”
Michelle Ramsawak: “Well, last month alone I changed three gas tanks because of this.”
Savika Singh: “Yes, I changed the gas head, hose and it didn’t stop. I got so fed up and bought a new stove and same problem.”
Rachel Primus: “Yes, this has happened to me and I thought it was my regulator, so I even changed that too. Scared to turn on the gas to cook. Purchased another tank and same problem.”
Parbati Bachu: “I am also having the same problem. The gas is always smelling.”
Candace Dickson: “I am currently having the same problem as well.”
Kathyann Bentick: “After removing the red cap off of this new tank of gas, this is what I discovered (broken rubber seal). NP you all need to check these tanks after they have been refilled. People’s lives are at risk of having an explosion from these faulty gas head rubbers.”
Raymond Raymond: “Bought this tank of gas from an NP station in Arima and only when I hooked it and turned it on, I realised that the rubber was missing. Gas was leaking heavy while I held an open flame in my hand, this could’ve ended really bad. Now who is to blame in this situation?”
No standard for heads – regulators
A senior petroleum industry source told Guardian Media that the business of LPG gas cylinders has traditionally been considered a safe and efficient practice. However, he said, he understands that an increasing number of gas heads/regulators are being imported from China.
Online, according to our research, they can be bought for as cheap as US$1.50 per regulator.
The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards has some LPG-related standards. However, while there are compulsory standards for pigtails and flexible hose connectors, there are no standards for heads or regulators. Standards for periodic inspection and testing of gas cylinders intended for compressed, liquefied, or dissolved gas are voluntary.
According to NP’s guidelines, if a gas cylinder is not to be used immediately, it should be stored in a cool, well-ventilated area. Yet, many gas stations and grocery stores keep their tanks outside exposed to the elements. Rubber seals are prone to deterioration at higher temperatures, which can cause the rubber to soften or harden, causing issues with the seal.
Dealers unaware of high returns
President of the Federation of Agricultural and Non-Financial Cooperatives and former president of the Petroleum Dealers Association, Derek Joseph, was unaware of dealers complaining of unusually high returns of LPG cylinders.
He said usually, out of approximately 50 tanks sold, one or two would be returned by customers for suspected leaks. However, he said if customers are complaining about an increasing number of gas tank leakages and their complaints are indeed accurate, it is almost certainly related to the rubber seals on the tanks.
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