The Atomic Junction Gas Explosion

Ghana over the weekend witnessed another gas explosion which occurred at a gas filling station at atomic Junction on the Legon - Madina route. Latest figures put the death toll at seven with one hundred and thirty-two persons injured out of which sixty-four have been discharged and sixty-eight still receiving treatment. Ghana has since 2014 recorded at least eight major gas related fires across the country. In all the eight cases, six were recorded in the Greater Accra Region, one in Takoradi in the Western Region, and another at Kasoa in the Central Region. According to statistics, about 250 lives have been lost in gas explosions in the last ten years, with the most severe being the June 3, 2015 disaster in which about 150 people died.

Collectively, we keep brooding over such incidents. Government officials and other people of influence, join the rest of us to express our condolences, yet no radical corrective action is taken to improve the situation. In all the previous explosions, government officials and the regulators resolve that they will put in place the necessary measures to avoid such incidents. But, after a few days of knee jerk reaction, everybody goes to sleep only to wake up to witness the next explosion. It is unfortunate that previous reports concerning similar fire disasters have not been thoroughly analyzed and recommendations implemented.

On a visit to the Atomic accident scene, Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia indicated that some new policy actions will be considered and government will not allow anyone to stand on the way of these policies. In that regard, there is going to be a crunch cabinet meeting to decide on the way forward for the prevention of such explosions. We must understand that the explosions are not occurring because there are no policies. Indeed, there are wonderful policies and guidelines but the problem has to do with the lack of enforcement. It is also pretty obvious that there is a needless turf war between the regulatory authorities as to who sets the standards especially in the petroleum and power sectors, and who monitors and inspects them.

The Ghana Standards Authority, GSA argues that there should be only one standards-setting body and then numerous regulators to enforce those standards in collaboration with the Authority. However, some energy-sector regulators and agencies resist this approach and try to do their own thing-- often due to their desire to collect various license and inspection fees. At this stage, it will be important to ensure an inter-ministerial and inter-agency collaboration in order to save lives, and also to make our industries more efficient and competitive.

Also, we cannot rule out the indiscipline and poor attitude of the Ghanaian. This indiscipline is reflected in the refusal or reluctance of fuel station managers and attendants, as well as drivers to adhere to simple safety guidelines. Stakeholders need to undertake serious sensitization throughout the country to make all of us change our attitudes towards safety.

In the Atomic Junction fire scenario, several reasons have been cited as the cause, including the location of the facility.

Truth be told, siting a filling station in a forest cannot be a cure for preventing explosion. In developed countries, filling stations are located in commercial centres yet they do not explode like what we witness in Ghana. This explosion should ginger regulatory authorities and all stakeholders in the industry to concentrate on creating a robust safety regime of procedure, supervision, monitoring and sanctions. It is important because about 90 percent of all the gas explosions recorded occurred when the fuel tanks were discharging products into the filling station tanks. This can be attributed to poor attention to safety measures during discharge.

The regulators and the oil and gas marketing companies must as their number one priority invest in safety management systems. One sad development relative to the latest gas explosion was the indecent haste with which some media houses purported to be determining the cause of the fire and how it occurred when the Ghana National Fire Service, the state institution with the expertise, has not done so. In as much the role of the media in giving out timely information is non-negotiable, it is important that such pieces of information are credible.

This places a burden on journalists to separate opinions and speculations from facts. 'Never again' is the catchphrase used when these disasters occur.

May this be our last never again chorus. May the souls of the departed rest in peace and speedy recovery to the injured.

BY BUBU KLINOGO, A JOURNALIST.

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