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Owners of uncertified Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage tanks across the country have been warned to get the standardisation and certification of the facilities or have then shut down.
In this regard, the Standards Organiastion of Nigeria (SON), has given a two-week ultimatum to all owners of LPG storage tanks nationwide to commence the process of certifications or have the tanks dismantled.
The Director General, SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, in a statement, was quoted to have expressed concern 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.
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Aboloma has therefore directed all the organisation’s officials to intensify 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.
He insisted that all imported and locally fabricated LPG storage tanks are required to undergo SON certification to assure conformity to the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) 419:2000, specification and testing of unfired pressure vessels for the storage of LGP as well as safety and performance requirements.
According to the SON helmsman, 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.
The SON boss 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 should not suffer from gas explosion due to the use of sub-standard storage tanks, saying: “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.”
