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LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana has subtly downplayed the concerns being raised with the siting of petrol and gas stations with a call for the strengthening of safety procedures.

The Association, in a statement released following the massive explosion at a gas station near Atomic junction in Accra on Saturday, maintained that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) “in itself is safe” as it has been processed for people to use.

Thus, the LPG Marketing Companies believe poor handling may have resulted in the explosion at Atomic junction as it noted that “where safety procedures are not properly implemented, there will always be issues irrespective of location.”

This is a sentiment that has been conveyed by Fire Service’s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Billy Anaglatey, and the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, despite the Atomic explosion being at least the eighth major gas explosion since 2014.

The effect of the massive explosion is slowly spreading in the form of protests against seemingly haphazard siting of gas and fuel stations in residential and densely populated areas.

Residents of Ritz junction in Accra, for example, on Sunday staged a demonstration to demand the removal of a gas station located in the area.

Students of the University of Professional Studies, UPSA, Accra, also demonstrated to protests the siting of a fuel station next to its campus.

But the LPG Marketing Companies Association believes the explosion should ginger regulatory authorities and all stakeholders in the industry “to concentrate on creating a robust safety regime of procedure, supervision and monitoring function.”

“It is unfortunate that previous reports concerning similar explosives have not been thoroughly analysed and put before the public. It is also important to emphasise that most of these explosions, about 90 per cent, occur during discharges from the truck tanks (Bulk Road Vehicles, BRVs) into the station tanks. This implies poor attention to safety measures during discharge. The industry must be prepared to invest in safer management as the number one priority of the user public,” the statement concluded.