State Minister for Consumer Affairs Lasantha Alagiyawanna stated in Parliament yesterday that 233 incidents including explosions related to the cylinders of Litro and Laugfs gas companies have been reported since January 1, 2015.
The State Minister acknowledged that the number of gas explosions were higher than before, adding that university studies had pointed out that changes in the Propane and Butane composition of gas cylinders could affect their pressure.
Under the supervision of the Chairman of the Accreditation Board, 12 gas samples have been taken from the Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Galle, Kalutara and Colombo Districts and sent to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for investigation. He also stated that these reports will be sent to the Moratuwa University and further action would be decided thereafter. Alagiyawanna was making a special statement at the commencement of the proceedings of the House. He also noted that a final decision in this regard has not been reached yet. “There were questions regarding the quality of the gas cylinder from the beginning,” Alagiyawanna said, adding that he had previously requested the Standards Institution to update the standard.
He also thanked the Standards Institution for commencing this measure.
“The truth is that there is no proper legitimate laboratory to test gas cylinders, “Alagiyawanna said.
