EPA works towards certification of LPG operators

Ghana News Agency (Takoradi) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it is working to ensure that only properly trained people can operate in the gas value chain.

Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, deputy executive director of the EPA, said the move is to help end wrongful handling of the product from the point of transportation to the final consumer. This would also curb the many accidents that have engulfed the sector over the years.

Appah-Sampong made these comments at a training workshop for LPG dealers, station attendants, technicians and members of the LPG Marketing Companies’ Association in Takoradi in the Western Region.

He said gas is an essential service which must be handled safely.

Fewer fatalities

Appah-Sampong said although the sector has suffered many incidents in the past, education and training initiated by the EPA has led to a reduction in fatalities in the sector.

The EPA will continue to work with the Ghana National Fire Service and Land Use and Spatial Authority to ensure that providers in the gas value chain work within the limitations of international best practice, he said.

The training, which centred on environmental safety and best practice, was under the auspices of the EPA. It introduced participants to safe handling of products, efficiency in regulatory requirement, emerging issues and best practice.

Samuel Otu Larbi, executive director of Solution Solve Ltd, who was the lead consultant for the training, said LPG is potentially hazardous if mishandled or misused.

Expertise

As such, he urged national and local officials to take advantage of expertise within the LPG industry to ensure an informed and uniform approach to good safety practice.

Larbi argued that being able to control risk will guarantee the health and safety of people and safeguard property and the environment.

“The danger is always present. Only the risk is reduced by behaviour,” he said. “To manage the hazard associated with LPG, one must first begin to understand the product and with the application of all the controls and safety procedures put in place.

“Managing safety is knowledge-based and procedures should be revised periodically,” he said.

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