TUE, APRIL 3 2018-theG&BJournal-The Chief Executive Officer, Lubricants Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN), Mr Emeka Obidike, says there is growing concern over the building of filling stations in residential areas, which can lead to fire disasters, claiming lives and destroying properties.
Speaking on the indiscriminate construction of filling stations in a conference held in Ikeja, Lagos state, Mr Obidike attributed it to sharp practices between the regulatory bodies and the operators.
He further described the practice as a time bomb, which the Federal Government and the relevant authorities have refused to tackle. In his description, “any little ignition will set the whole-area ablaze”.
The Nigerian’s Department of Petroleum Resources has only warned gas stations in the densely populated areas, to relocated at a minimum of 500 feet away from any public institution such as schools, churches, public libraries, auditoriums, hospitals, public playgrounds.
Apart from the fact that petroleum products are highly inflammable, it’s transportation, off-loading, storage and mode of sales, among other issues can also cause harm to man, if not properly done with care.
March 2016, there was fire out brake at ASCON filling station, located at 240 Igbosere road, Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State, killing 6 people. The massive inferno was reported to have engulfed the station and erased other buildings close to the fuel station before the Fire service officials came to the rescue.
In another incident, two persons were confirmed dead and seven others injured as a petrol station located in Adigbe area of Abeokuta 2017. The station, Rabeng Petroleum, located opposite the popular “Iya Sunday” food canteen, was reported to have caught fire as a welder worked on a fuel tank beside a gas base in the premises. The fire later spread to about six shops opposite the fuel station and destroyed properties.
In Sango Tedo, Eti-Osa local government Area of Lagos, there is a school building right beside the petrol station with fence demarcating them. Similarly, another Total Fuel Station was built on the ground floor of Lagos Travel Inn on Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contact with higher ozone levels can lead to respiratory problems and asthma. Another research by National Library of Medicine (NLM) indicate that high exposure to gasoline, whether in liquid or vapour form, can cause lung, brain and kidney damage.
Findings from France Research Institute shows that children living near petrol stations or automotive garages had a quadrupled risk of leukaemia, and the risk of developing acute non-lymphoblastic leukaemia.
The quest to reduce ozone levels has led the state of California in April 1, 2009 to implement a more stringent vapor-recovery law, which stipulates that all gasoline pumps have a new and more effective vapor-recovery nozzle.
In Lagos state, the increase of petrol stations sited close to residential buildings, worship centers and offices in every nook and cranny, keeps increasing.
The Department of Petroleum Resources DPR data shows that there are 586 illegal filling stations around the country, 200 indiscriminate locations.
Mr. Emeka urged the Federal Government to step up checks urgently and ensure the relocation of filling stations around residential areas to a better area. He added, until the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) clamps down on petrol stations operators breaking safely rules in the country, lives and property will still remain in danger.
