By Adedapo Adesanya
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued a stern warning to marketers against importing fairly-used gas cylinders into the country, stressing that the country was dealing with a lot of dangers relating to the substandard products.
The caution was given at a one-day workshop for journalists organised by the organisation in Lagos last week.
The Head, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG of the organisation, Mr Williams Okpeh, represented by Mr Ayiti Akinwale, said used cylinders should not be imported into the country, adding that while many foreign manufacturers are not certified, some others are yet to renew their licenses with SON.
He also warned marketers to stay away from China products.
“Despite that, producers from China are not certified. We noticed that marketers, for whatever reasons, prefer China cylinders, and this is dangerous,” he said.
He stated reasons for which foreign cylinders would be allowed into the country as being that; SON officials must have visited their facilities in their countries, and upon bringing them in, the cylinders must be tested and certified.
“SON has blacklisted many of the foreign cylinder producers due to low standard of their products. Cylinder marketers are advised to get certification from SON before taking their products to the market or importing”, he said.
Explaining further, he stated that the life span of any cylinder should not be more than 15 years, and should be re-qualified every five years.
“Refurbishing of cylinders should happen not more than once in its lifetime, and not be done by roadside welders,” he warned, adding that most cylinders currently in circulation in the country are either old, substandard or expired.
He then listed some of the qualities to watch out for when buying gas cylinders as; LPG cylinders must be identified with manufacturer’s or importer’s name/logo, imported LPG cylinders must have a SON Registration number for traceability, and locally produced LPG cylinders must have a MANCAP number for traceability.
In addition, LPG cylinders are manufactured in 2-piece or 3-piece, and all cylinders must have a statement of re-qualification on them.
“Any cylinder with major damage through dent, rust, fire etc. is considered as sub-standard and should be scrapped,” he added.
Modupe Gbadeyanka