The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the new national policy guideline makes it unlawful for anybody to site and operate Liquifued Petroleum Gas (LPG) re-filling station in a residential area.

Mr William Kwaku Hayfron-Acquah, the Director, Field Operations, EPA, emphasized the Agency would therefore not approve or grant operational permit to such LPG re-filling stations and also cautioned potential operators to take note before it is too late.

According to the guidelines, LPG re-filling stations could only be sited at industrial as well as areas not close to schools, hospitals, markets and dominantly residential areas.

That notwithstanding, Mr Hayfron-Acquah said exemptions could be provided for potential LPG operators in commercial cities and towns for easy accessibility, saying "in every policy implementation, we tried to ensure that human factors are considered".

Speaking in an interview with Sompa FM on the sidelines of a training workshop for LPG operators held at Techiman in the Bono East Region, Mr Hayfron-Acquah said the EPA was working to ensure that safety control systems were improved at already existing LPG re-filling stations situated at public places in the country.

The EPA in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service, Factory Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority organized the two-day workshop on environmental, safety and international best practices.

Mr Hayfron-Acquah indicated that though very relevant, LPG operations was also dangerous because any leakage could expand and easily explode when it comes into contact with flames or hot objects, saying between 2015 and 2019 alone the country recorded about 90 deaths and while more than 400 others sustained burns and injuries through gas explosion.

As a regulator, he added that the Agency would ensure that all LPG re-filling stations operated with the required standards and safety measures not only to guarantee the safety of the public, but also operators and attendants as well.

Source: sompaonline.com/98.9FM/K.Peprah