News
96 die in gas accidents, 486 injured between 2007 and 2015
Ninety-Six people died in 19 accidents from Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) refilling plants in the country between 2007 and 2015.
Over the period, 486 people also sustained serious injuries .
Investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed that the tragic incidents were as the result of the lack of proper training for operators along the supply chain (drivers, managers, supervisors and pump attendants) on the safe handling of LPG.
Mr William Hayford-Acquah, acting Director of Field Operations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), disclosed these while interacting with journalists on the second day of a three-day capacity building training for 136 workers in the LPG sector in the Volta Region, at Ho on Tuesday.
“The LPG plant operators received no formal training on the safe handling of LPG but were tasked with the responsibility of manning the plants,” he said.
The training, organised by the EPA was meant to introduce the participants to the safe handling of petroleum products to make them more efficient in responding to their regulatory requirements and equip them with pollution prevention and control methods and systems, among others.
The participants were taken through emerging issues and best practices in the LPG industry and the compliance with regulations of the sector.
Mr Hayford-Acquah said that the EPA had taken a firm stance to inject professionalism in the industry and make the operators more efficient.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Henry K. Kokofu, Executive Director of EPA, noted that the growth in the gas sector had come with public concerns over the proliferation of gas services outlets in residential areas.
He said that EPA in collaboration with other stakeholder institutions initiated the training and certification programme to avert LPG accidents in future.
He said that the demand for LPG in the country had increased tremendously over the past decades, adding that there were now 3,596 refilling LPG and fuel stations nationwide.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho
News
Steps underway to repeal L.I 2462 – Prez assures
President John Dramani Mahama has assured Ghanaians that steps are underway to repeal Legislative Instrument 2462 as part of efforts to protect the country’s forests and water bodies.
During his media encounter at the Jubilee House, the president explained that the repeal will formalise the ban on mining in forest reserves and strengthen enforcement against illegal mining.
He stressed that his administration is committed to safeguarding the environment, reclaiming degraded reserves, and deploying more personnel to protect river bodies across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
9 forest reserves recovered from illegal mining – President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the recovery of nine forest reserves from illegal mining under his government’s intensified environmental protection drive.
Addressing journalists at the Jubilee House, the president explained that hundreds of excavators, water pumps and other equipment have been seized as part of the operation, while degraded areas are being reclaimed and restored.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to end mining in protected areas, deploy more personnel to safeguard river bodies and strengthen laws to secure Ghana’s natural resources for future generations.
This notwithstanding, President Mahama revealed that two of the retrieved forest reserves had gone back into the hands of illegal miners, however, adequate measures have been put in place to reclaim them.
By: Jacob Aggrey
