Unawareness and Safety Risks: Nigerians Remain Ignorant of Gas Cylinder Expiry Dates

Mrs. Zainab Olalekan discovered it amusing when she was requested if she knew her fuel cylinder had an expiry date.

She couldn’t comprehend how the metal fuel cylinder she inherited from her mom might have an expiration date.

This sentiment was shared by different fuel cylinder customers our correspondent spoke to at a fuel retail store within the Okota space of Lagos State.

Over the previous decade, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), generally often called cooking fuel, has gained widespread acceptance amongst Nigerians.

This has led to a big development within the home fuel market and a rise within the consumption price of cooking fuel within the nation.

As a end result of the surge in demand for cooking fuel, households throughout Nigeria have acquired quite a few fuel cylinders. However, many customers are unaware that these cylinders have expiration dates.

The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) has supplied pointers on the expiration of fuel cylinders in step with Nigeria Industrial Standard NIS 69:2013.

According to SON, fuel metal cylinders manufactured or imported in Nigeria have a specified lifespan of 15 years.

The group additionally requires particular markings on cylinders, such because the producer’s model title, nation of origin, check strain, tare weight, SON product registration quantity with prefix FA, and yr of manufacture.

To decide the expiration date of a fuel cylinder, one wants so as to add 15 years to the manufacturing date.

The marking info indicating the manufacturing date can normally be discovered on the shroud (deal with) or foot ring (stand/base) of the cylinder.

During interactions with fuel cylinder customers at a retail store in Okota, it was found that whereas a number of people have been conscious of cylinder expiration dates, they didn’t take them significantly.

The majority of customers have been utterly unaware of the expiration dates.

The SON emphasizes that every one expired cylinders should be faraway from circulation to make sure security.

According to Bassey Essien, the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers (NALPGAM), persons are turning into conscious of cylinder expiration dates however select to disregard them.

He highlights that Nigeria operates on a cylinder possession system, making it difficult to manage such points.

Essien notes that some people proceed to make use of fuel cylinders which might be 40 to 50 years previous with out understanding the potential dangers.

While the SON periodically raids retail outlets to confiscate rusty and expired cylinders for destruction, fuel plant homeowners would not have the authorized authority to grab somebody’s cylinder.

Instead, they educate customers in regards to the apparent security implications, corresponding to the chance of explosions.

Despite elevated consciousness about fuel cylinder expiration dates, many customers nonetheless lack data or select to ignore this necessary security side.

The possession system and challenges with enforcement additional complicate the regulation of fuel cylinder expiry dates.

It is essential for people to acknowledge that fuel cylinders, like some other gadgets, have expiration dates, and adhering to those dates is crucial for security.