Illegal gas decanting: Greedy, reckless!
(Baonghean)- In 2011, in Nghe An, there were 5 explosions related to gas use, killing 1 person and injuring 1 person. Most of the explosions were related to illegal gas decanting. However, because of greed and despite the danger, many people still secretly decant gas!
(Baonghean)- In 2011, in Nghe An, there were 5 explosions related to gas use, killing 1 person and injuring 1 person. Most of the explosions were related to illegal gas decanting. However, because of greed and despite the danger, many people still secretly decant gas!
Currently, in our province, there are only 7 licensed gas filling stations such as: Petro gas, Total gas, Thang Long gas,... most of them only fill household gas cylinders from 12-14 kg, not mini gas cylinders. However, the Nghe An market is still flooded with all kinds of mini gas cylinders, mainly old cylinders provided by illegal filling facilities. Not only illegally filling mini gas, some facilities also fill and counterfeit the brands of 12-14 kg gas cylinders.
From December 15, 2011 to January 15, 2012, the provincial authorities discovered 6 cases of illegal gas decanting (2 cases in Vinh City, 2 cases in Nghi Loc, 1 case in Quy Hop, 1 case in Nam Dan), and imposed a fine of 51 million VND. There were cases of seizing large amounts of illegally decanted gas such as: On December 22, 2011, the joint force caught a gas shop in Xuan Toan block, Nam Dan town illegally decanting gas from large gas cylinders to small gas cylinders by manual methods, seizing nearly 500 mini gas cylinders, 2 manual gas decanting devices, 5 barrels of aromatic gasoline...
Previously, on December 9, 2011, Vinh City Police caught Nghe An Gas Services Company Limited illegally decanting gas. At the time of inspection, the company's workers were decanting 40 gas cylinders (12 kg) of Petronas Gas brand into Dat Viet gas cylinders... According to our investigation, the discovered cases are just the "tip of the iceberg", because in our province there are currently nearly 900 gas stores, and illegal decanting of mini gas cylinders often occurs at these businesses.
A gas shop owner in Hung Loc (Vinh City) said that to make a profit, after importing 12-14 kg gas cylinders from agents, gas shops often reduce about 1-2 kg of gas into mini cylinders and then re-add the warranty label to sell. As for illegal gas decanting facilities for 12-14 kg cylinders, they often buy gas and gas cylinders that do not guarantee quality, then decant and re-label them with the labels of reputable brands to sell for profit. The illegal gas decanting stores, gas that does not guarantee quality and safety, still sell well because they reduce the price compared to genuine gas.
Illegal mini gas cylinder decanting is common because "where there is demand, there is supply". Mini gas cylinder users are restaurants, students, workers... who often pay little attention to safety issues and only focus on price, so instead of buying a new mini gas cylinder for about 20 thousand VND, they only need to spend about 5 thousand VND to have a refilled mini gas cylinder. Along with that, the business of mini gas cylinders is still loose, leading to any grocery store becoming a place to trade in illegal mini gas cylinders.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tat Diep - Deputy Head of the Inspection Team of the Provincial Fire Police Department said: "According to regulations, only gas filling stations with full legal status, equipment and fire safety assurance are allowed to fill gas, and gas stores are absolutely not allowed to fill gas. However, for profit, illegal gas filling in the province still occurs in many different forms and scales. Filling gas without ensuring technical standards is very dangerous because it can easily cause fire and explosion. People using old mini gas cylinders are also very dangerous. Because according to regulations, mini gas cylinders can only be used once, but many establishments reuse them dozens of times, even using rusty cylinders and cockroach spray bottles to fill gas for sale!".
According to Lieutenant Colonel Diep, detecting illegal gas decanting cases is very difficult, because illegal gas decanting equipment is quite simple and decanting does not take much time. Therefore, when the authorities come to check, they have already dispersed the evidence to hide it. To detect it, there must be close coordination between local police, along with denunciations from the people. The situation of illegal gas decanting is not only unsafe but also affects the economy of reputable gas companies and consumers. To protect themselves and not assist in illegal gas decanting, when buying gas, consumers should choose reputable companies, gas cylinders with clear labels and seals, should weigh and check the weight of the gas cylinder, and not use mini gas cylinders for re-decanting because they can easily cause fire or explosion.
The Government has just issued a decree on administrative sanctions for violations in the business of liquefied petroleum gas (gas). Accordingly, violations in the export, import, production, processing and distribution of gas such as: not having a registration certificate, having a gas storage facility but not following technical standards, decanting, filling gas at the wrong place, renting, borrowing or renting... will be subject to a fine of 10-50 million VND depending on each violation. For acts of illegally changing the shape, structure, or original weight of a gas cylinder (such as changing the base, cutting the handle, grinding the logo...) will be subject to a fine of 40-50 million VND. In particular, the business of mini gas cylinders that are not allowed to be refilled will be fined 20-30 million VND. The use of these mini gas cylinders in food service businesses will also be fined 10-20 million VND. The Decree takes effect from January 1, 2012. |
Duc Dung
