A disturbing sight during the latest fuel shortage in Kenya was that of people transporting petroleum products in unsafe and unsuitable containers.
Equally unsettling was seeing some people pouring petroleum into different types and size of containers and selling it by the roadside in some towns. We must guard against such practices to stay safe and protect each other and ourselves from the dangers of mishandling petroleum.
Handling petroleum products is a specialised field. It requires a context where there is strict enforcement of regulations by the government. Other prerequisites include safety standards, competent personnel and facilities that are designed to handle fuel safely. Consumers need to have basic product knowledge to ensure their safety.
There are specifically approved containers for storing / transporting bulk quantities of petroleum products. These containers have been approved based on the fact that they have a limited capacity, are suitably robust and are clearly labelled.
They are often designed to generate minimal static electricity as this is known to be a major hazard in the petroleum industry and is a source of ignition that can lead to fires and explosions. Apart from risk of ignition, direct exposure to petroleum products is a health hazard.
The container should be metallic so that it can conduct electrostatic charges easily. The container should be clearly labelled as fuel to avoid any risk of confusion of its contents. Fuel in containers should be stored away from children, in a well-ventilated space. There should be no source of ignition nearby. The use of PVC gloves when handling petroleum products is also recommended, since these products are a health hazard if they come into contact with the skin. Similarly, they should not be ingested.
The monument at Sachang’wan and disasters such as last year’s Malanga fuel tanker tragedy are stark reminders of what happens when petroleum products are handled incorrectly and in unregulated spaces.
The safest site for the sale and distribution of fuel remains the petrol station, where it should ideally be dispensed directly into the vehicle. Service stations are designed for this purpose and it is easier to enforce safety precautions, such as turning the engine and mobile phone off, at these sites.
Service stations should have highly trained attendants who follow a prescribed, standard procedure when fueling vehicles to ensure the safety of their customers and even the attendants themselves. Attendants should be trained in firefighting, and know exactly what to do if there are any incidents at the site.
Our retailers or franchisees are required to state their commitment to all Health, Safety, Security and Environment requirements. They are further supported by ongoing training and frequent inspections to ensure compliance with the relevant safety standards.
HSSE information is regularly shared with their teams, and statutory compliance is the minimum requirement that we submit to, especially Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services and National Environmental Management Agency requirements.
In the Kenyan context, these requirements and the regulatory oversight provided by the two state agencies seem to have worked, largely, with no reported catastrophic fires or explosions in the recent past. We have to go back to 2018, when a whole service station was razed to the ground, in an incident that was a major marker and turning point for the industry.
The trigger was a customer who had driven off the station forecourt with a nozzle attached to the car. Since then, we now ensure that nozzles are designed in such a way that they break off, should a customer drive away by mistake.
The attendants at our service stations are also trained to follow a clearly spelt out process, which ensures they engage with the customer to the point when they are done with the fueling and at the end of the process, they have to remove the nozzle.
The monument at Sachang’wan and disasters such as last year’s Malanga fuel tanker tragedy are stark reminders of what happens when petroleum products are handled incorrectly and in unregulated spaces. Let’s all ensure we all follow the correct procedures for handling fuel so that we stay safe.
The author is Health Safety Security Environment manager at Vivo Energy Kenya
