Extra caution needed to handle flammables

Posted on October 11, 2012 Updated on June 6, 2015

While in the heart of Abu Dhabi, I happened to witness a tanker refilling a building’s storage unit with gas and was shocked at the absolutely careless manner in which the process was handled.

The building was situated in the center of the city, in front of one of the malls in the area, and the truck was stationed in the street, where many vehicles continuously passed by.

There was no sign or barrier around the truck to keep other vehicles at a safe distance.

All but one of the workers were out of uniform and the one person wearing a uniform was not near the control unit of the truck, which was transferring highly flammable gas to the storage unit. Nor was there a single person near the inlet to monitor the transfer process.

I was really shocked to see this being handled as if it were a transfer of drinking water to a building unit.

There are restaurants and coffee shops in the building, and the streets are filled with drivers, passengers, and pedestrians who carry lit cigarettes and which could be thrown in any direction at any time.

Also, rash drivers try to speed on these narrow roads. What if a vehicle were to emanate an electronic spark or if there was an accident while this process was taking place?

I humbly call on the concerned authorities to take caution and urgently issue appropriate guidelines for the refilling of cooking gas at residential units. These are activities that need to be carried out under strict caution and guidelines.

Let us take precaution before an accident happens.

The reader is based in Abu Dhabi. Be a community reporter. Tell us what is happening in your community. Send us your videos and pictures at readers@gulfnews.com

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