The President of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Timothy Iwuagwu, has warned Nigerians against scooping spilt gasoline at accident scenes, saying a single spark might set off a lethal explosion.
Mr Iwuagwu additionally blamed poor tanker design, insufficient inspections and weak enforcement of car security requirements for a lot of of Nigeria’s lethal gasoline tanker accidents.
He spoke on Friday throughout an look on Arise News’ News Night, a day after a fuel pipeline explosion in Aleto, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
On Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES additionally reported {that a} petrol tanker caught fireplace in Oluku, Benin City, Edo State, as residents scooped spilt gasoline.
Keep away from spills
Mr Iwuagwu mentioned folks ought to steer clear of gasoline spills and guarantee affected areas are cordoned off to maintain folks from approaching.
“Keep away, keep away,” he mentioned, warning that individuals who rush to gather spilt petroleum merchandise usually underestimate the hazard.
“Scooping the material that has spilt is the most foolhardy of all decisions,” he mentioned.
He defined that gasoline vapour might ignite when it comes into contact with an ignition supply, even from a substantial distance.
“An explosion could occur from even an electrostatic source or a spark,” he mentioned.
He added that gasoline vapour might journey away from the leak level earlier than igniting and triggering a hearth on the supply.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) mentioned 411 folks died in 2024 whereas scooping gasoline from crash websites, accounting for about 7.6 per cent of highway deaths recorded that yr.
A separate research protecting January 2009 to October 2024 documented 169 tanker fireplace and explosion incidents that killed 1,613 folks.
Poor tanker design
When he was requested about root causes of tanker accidents, Mr Iwuagwu pointed to the design and configuration of the autos.
He mentioned tankers must be constructed to forestall leaks, even after they overturn.
“Not a drop of the liquid content is expected to leak out of that truck, by its very design and configuration,” he mentioned.
He defined that tankers ought to have inside baffles to scale back liquid motion contained in the tank, notably when the automobile travels on uneven roads.
He additionally recognized suspension programs, steering mechanisms and tyre stress as vital security concerns, warning that uneven tyre stress might destabilise a loaded tanker.
Inadequate inspections
Mr Iwuagwu mentioned many tankers are imported and cleared by way of the nation’s ports with out satisfactory scrutiny of their security options.
He mentioned security professionals have been hardly ever concerned within the inspection course of and referred to as for imported tankers to be completely examined and licensed earlier than they’re launched to be used.
“We hardly have the presence of safety professionals in such places,” he mentioned.
He additionally criticised some firms for resisting security inspections.
“A lot of companies are even reluctant to allow safety professionals to look into some of these conveyances,” he mentioned.
He mentioned Nigeria had did not adequately tackle the issue of tankers with completely different designs and configurations getting into the nation and being deployed on its roads.
Mr Iwuagwu additionally faulted highway security and automobile inspection officers, saying they usually focus extra on automobile paperwork than on the mechanical situation of the autos.
He recalled an encounter with a loaded truck close to Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the place he observed that the wheel nuts have been free.
“The wheel nuts were all slack and falling off,” he mentioned, including that he overtook the truck and compelled the driving force to cease.
Rail transport in its place
Mr Iwuagwu referred to as for larger use of rail transport to maneuver petroleum merchandise, arguing it could scale back the dangers of transporting extremely flammable supplies on roads.
“The best way to move these things is by rail,” he mentioned.
He additionally recognized pipelines as an possibility however pressured that they should be correctly maintained to forestall leaks and explosions.
He mentioned transporting petroleum merchandise by rail would assist maintain them away from highway customers and communities uncovered to tanker accidents.
Aleto pipeline explosion
Residents of Aleto have referred to as for the substitute of the fuel pipeline concerned in Thursday’s explosion, fairly than repairs restricted to the ruptured part.
They alleged that the pipeline had been leaking for about three weeks earlier than the explosion.
In a report by Arise News, the president of the Aleto Community Youths, whose identify was not supplied, mentioned no consultant of the pipeline operator had arrived on the scene by noon on Friday.
“They need to do a proper rehabilitation,” he mentioned. “Remove all the pipes and replace them with another one, not to endanger our lives here.”
Another resident mentioned the neighborhood had notified the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) concerning the leak, however that no substantial motion had been taken.
“They informed NNPC; they came and put caution tape. For over three weeks now, they did nothing,” the resident mentioned.
A security engineer additionally urged NNPC to examine its pipelines, noting that many had been laid a long time in the past.
“Most of these pipelines were laid 30-40 years ago,” the engineer mentioned.
NNPC Limited confirmed the incident on Friday, saying the affected pipeline belonged to its subsidiary, NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited.
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The firm mentioned it had remoted the affected part and activated its emergency response procedures. It added that investigations have been underway to determine the trigger and full extent of the incident.
Reports mentioned at the least 20 folks have been injured and greater than 50 homes have been destroyed within the explosion. No deaths had been independently confirmed within the experiences obtainable on the time.
A group from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) was additionally on the scene and promised a joint investigation.
In Edo State, casualty figures following the Oluku tanker fireplace stay unclear. The police confirmed that eight folks sustained burn accidents, whereas different experiences mentioned 4 folks have been feared lifeless.
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