Tag: Ria George

Making LPG use safe

It took almost three months after the incident that resulted in the death of Ria George for NP to announce a review of its standards for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tanks.

Ms George died on September 27 after sustaining severe injuries when a tank exploded at her home in Penal.

On October 17, Bevaughn Joseph died a week after a tank exploded at his Penal home.

Exploding LPG tanks caused two deaths earlier this year.

NP’s assurances that its tanks are subject to batch sampling and quality assurance tests are hardly reassuring, given the real-world, mortal experiences that users are having with these products.

More troubling is the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries’ statement that draft LPG regulations prepared and submitted in 2020 “never progressed to the implementation stage.”

This isn’t good enough.

As late as October 24, after four deaths attributable to explosions of the squat 20lb cylinders, NP was still, according to a press release, “actively monitoring media reports.”

By then, the state fuel-distribution agency should have been aware of a serious problem in an industry that supplies cooking fuel to hundreds of thousands of households.

NP inexplicably dubbed the tanks Clyvester Cylinder in an odd effort at anthropomorphising them in safety messages for children. There are a million of the 20lb fuel cylinders in use across TT.

Ramco, a competing supplier of LPG and propane tanks, does not report on the number of tanks it manages in the market.

There are more than two billion household-class LPG cylinders in use globally, according to the World LPG Association (WLPGA).

NP has issued guidance on handling the tanks it supplies, urging customers to monitor the age of cylinder connectors, hose condition and the quality of the clips that secure the tank connectors to stoves.

The fuel supplier also noted that it tests tanks using hydraulic pressure testing every five years, half the global time established for tank integrity tests.

While those warnings are sensible, few homeowners have the technical savvy to inspect either tank valves or connector assemblies and may risk making things worse without professional guidance.

LPG installations in TT do not require follow-up inspections, though some countries require professional assessment of LPG systems every two to five years for homes and as frequently as annually for commercial cooking operations.

The WLPGA encourages LPG suppliers to use customer interactions at the point of delivery for both new installations and replacement cylinders to review recommended procedures for safe tank use and to distribute safety literature.

NP could benefit from other association suggestions, which include more rigorous brand identification of its tank assets, better tracking of cylinder distribution and improved monitoring of cylinder storage in its distributor channel.

Penal man critical after gas tank explodes

A 28-year-old man of Sunrees Road, Penal, is in critical condition after his liquid petroleum gas tank exploded on October 13.

The man’s uncle told investigators that around 3.45 pm, he was at home when he heard a loud explosion. Upon checking, he saw his nephew’s downstairs apartment on fire.

The labourer sustained injuries to his face and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and was warded in the intensive care unit.

Fire officers of the Mon Repos Fire Station responded and extinguished the blaze, and determined it was caused by the explosion of a 20-pound gas cylinder in the kitchen.

There have been several gas tank explosions this year, with about half a dozen injuries and three fatalities.

On September 27, Ria George died at the San Fernando Hospital after she was injured when her gas tank exploded at her Diggity Trace home almost two months earlier.

Following George’s death, the National Petroleum Marketing Company advised people to inspect newly purchased tanks for leaks with soapy water. It said any defects should be immediately reported.

Raquel Babwah, 44, died days after a suspected gas tank explosion at her Mt Pleasant Road in Springvale Village, Claxton Bay, in June.

Naomi Aliyah Mya De Mille, 19, died at hospital after a similar suspected explosion at her Lopinot home in April.

Time bomb in the kitchen

PAOLO KERNAHAN

THERE WAS a tragic insight in the story of a fatality caused by an LPG gas tank explosion. The victim’s husband said that when his wife, Ria George, woke up, she smelled gas in the kitchen. By his account, “the gas man” told them when that happens “take out the rubber and flip it over,” which they did. Ria George scratched the match, igniting the gas that had already permeated the kitchen. Two lives of modest means were detonated by something that sits like a time bomb in thousands of homes across this country. George did as was recommended – it turned out to be terrible advice.

No one using LPG cylinders should be tampering with them, particularly if there’s a detectable odour of gas. It raises the question: how many households are unaware of what to do with a leaky gas tank? Do you take it back to the gas station or wherever it was purchased, leaking gas all the way there?

Turns out the answers to these and many more questions are right there on the NP website – the FAQs deal with the safe transportation of LPG cylinders, what you should do in the event of a leak, how to identify a faulty O-ring, contact numbers for further information, etc. So, how could this recent tragedy have happened, given the clearly spelt-out information on the website? The answer is simple. Ordinary members of the public, particularly those in the lower socio-economic brackets, won’t even be aware of the NP website or have the presence of mind to go in search of one.

Many citizens are pressed with rising long before the crack of dawn to marshal the kids for school, cook breakfast, pack lunch and prepare for the glacial commute to work. Protocols for managing a potentially explosive device in the kitchen are likely low on the pecking order of daily concerns that absorb attention.

The information on the NP website is absolutely crucial for users of LPG tanks, yet the company is making a serious error – one that many others make, but without similar consequences. With such information, you can’t wait for the public to come find it. NP must actively and consistently go out there and put this life-saving education in front of consumers across social media and conventional media outlets.

Such incidents aren’t new. Conversations about them are perhaps louder today because of the proliferation of social media and security footage that sometimes captures these calamities. When I started my career in journalism way back in the 90s, one of the stories I covered was a spate of LPG tank explosions. I visited different filling plants and distribution centres to examine their processes and safety measures.

In those days, the industry responded to reports of leaking gas tanks by introducing a plastic seal over the tank valve. I’ve encountered plastic seals on pepper sauce bottles that were far more sound than those used on gas tanks. Questions were raised then about how effective they really were. That didn’t matter much anyway because if the valve or O-ring was defective, the seal would only be useful in the transportation process. Once in the home, it’s on you. The flimsy plastic seal has since evolved into a more robust valve cap – but it’s still a measure that applies more to the safe transportation and not the use of the gas.

NP, somewhat injudiciously, issued a release in the wake of the most recent gas tank incident, reminding customers of their responsibility to do the soapy water test on the valve. Perhaps cylinders should be sold with a Palmolive taped to the side as a reminder. Naturally, several citizens interpreted this statement as NP passing the problem onto the consumer. It begs the questions: What are NP’s routine tests on the structural integrity of these tanks before they’re dispatched to the public? Is there a rigid standard of testing across the vast distribution network to reduce the risks to households?

LPG-related burn injuries are fairly common around the world. In Indonesia, for example, there were 509 burn injuries over five years. This data is included in a comprehensive report analysing the problem. LPG cylinders will continue to be a major feature of our landscape. Electric stoves can cost nearly twice as much as gas stoves and are more expensive to operate.

Consumers deserve the protection of more robust screening measures. NP needs to invest in broader public safety education for households. Bubbling a pot shouldn’t be a death sentence for anyone.

Burn victim remembered as loyal employee, loving aunt

Ria George, 47, who died after an almost two-month fight for life when her gas tank exploded, was remembered as a kind, loving and dedicated woman by loved ones at her funeral on October 3.

Saying a few words during the grocery worker’s closed-casket funeral at Boysie Boodoo’s Funeral Home in Penal, Barrackpore West Councillor Nicholas Kanhai recalled meeting George when he got his first job at MS Superstore and then MS Foodcity Supermarket in Debe. He described her as someone who took a genuine interest in the lives of customers and would leave a lasting impact on coworkers.

“All those who had an opportunity to work with Ria, you cannot say that she didn’t make you a better employee; her conversations with you didn’t make you a better person, she didn’t inspire you in one way or the other. Someone like Ria was so committed and dedicated to her job, I think Rakesh is probably her second husband, because the supermarket was probably her first.”

“Like every one of us, she experienced challenges every day. Some people put up their hands and they walk away, some people hold steadily and deal with whatever comes, and I think Ria was one of those persons.

“Through all the trials and tribulations that she encountered along her journey, a very very short 47 years of life, she never gave up one day. She kept pushing ahead. So I didn’t expect ever in my lifetime to be standing here having to celebrate her life.”

But her dedication was not limited only to her work ethic, as her nephew, Ryan Baliram, said she was equally dedicated to her family. Though not having any children of her own, Baliram said she poured all her love into her nieces and nephews. He recalled how she refused to be called aunty “because she was one of us.”

“That was the kind of person Donny (George) was, approachable, warm and always ready to stand side by side but not above us. Donny was kind, giving and extremely generous. She always found a way to help others, even if it meant putting aside her own needs. She was hardworking and dedicated.”

George fought for her life at the San Fernando General Hospital for seven weeks after sustaining burns across 32 per cent of her body when her LPG cooking gas tank exploded at home. An autopsy on October 2 found she died from multiple organ failure due to third-degree burn wounds.

Following her death, the National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd (NP) issued a release offering condolences to her family. It also advised the public to always “soapy water test” newly purchased tanks before using it, focusing specifically on the connections between the regulator and valve, the regulator and the hose and the hose and the stove.