Owners of uncertified Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage tanks across Nigeria have been warned to get the standardisation and certification of the facilities or have them shut down.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has given a two-week ultimatum to all owners of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage tanks nationwide to commence the process of SON certifications or have the tanks dismantled.
In a statement from the office of Osita Aboloma, director-general, SON, in Abuja indicated that SON had since observed and worried by the sharp rise in the installation of LPG storage tanks in petrol filling stations across the country, many of which could not provide evidence of SON certifications for the vessels.
Aboloma has therefore directed all SON officers to intensity the surveillance of all installed LPG storage tanks in their areas of coverage to ascertain those that have undergone SON certifications before installation as required by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) regulation.
Aboloma said all imported and locally fabricated LPG storage tanks were required to undergo SON certification to assure conformity to the requirements of Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) 419:2000, specification and Testing of Unfired Pressure Vessels for the Storage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LGP). These according to him, include safety and performance requirements.
According to Aboloma, locally manufactured vessels are required to undergo certification under the SON Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP), while imported vessels are required to undergo the offshore Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) certification.
He appealed to the public to be vigilant and report any installation of LPG storage tanks in their vicinity to the nearest SON office for verification of compliance to standards requirement in the interest of public safety.
He warned that Nigerian would not suffer from gas explosion due to the use of sub-standard storage tanks.
“The time has come to put our acts together and end the nightmare. We are committed towards the full implementation of the policy against the use of substandard storage tanks,” he said
