FUEL Retailers Association of Southern Africa (FRA) chief executive Reggie Sibiya has supported the ban on pumping fuel in non-approved containers, saying the measure was expected to prevent conditions that could result in fires or explosions.
Last week, Sibiya said that only strong metal containers with tight-fitting caps or plastic containers complying with South African National Standards (SANS) would be filled.
“Plastic containers SANS 1176 compliant will have these markings: SANS certification stamp, the manufacturers’ ID mark, the month and year of manufacture, the batch ID and the nominal capacity in litres.”
He said the container should be placed on the ground and held tightly with the nozzle kept in contact with the inlet before filling it up slowly.
“Do not fill them in the boots of cars, on the back of an LDV, in boats and so on. The municipal by-laws stipulate that only approved portable containers are to be used to store petrol and diesel. Do not allow filling of plastic/glass bottles that are not approved as directed above,” said Sibiya.
Sibiya said the SANS, governed by the SABS rule, had existed before the lawlessness that struck KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng earlier this month. Those who have been using the containers were in contravention of the safety stipulations.
Sibiya said the use of the incorrect containers had started years back with containers not fit for purpose coming to forecourts with a “life and death” story of some car stuck on the road.
This month, the government banned the pumping of petrol and diesel into containers following the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, bringing an end to the era of filling soft drink bottles and cans and plastic containers with petrol.
Following the mayhem in which retail outlets were looted, warehouses torched, and infrastructure vandalised in both provinces, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe issued regulations that prohibiting the sale and dispensing of petrol and diesel into containers”. It was issued under the Petroleum Products Act of 1977 and served to prohibit retail sales of petroleum products in portable containers to members of the public.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, amended the regulation, saying that it had “considered the concerns it has received from valid use of containers to purchase petrol and diesel for various reasons”. For the purposes of the regulations, a “container” referred to an object that was not approved for the holding or transporting of petrol and diesel according to the relevant SANS.
It said the amendment would be issued and gazetted soon.
“The Department recognises the anxiety and confusion that may have been created, particularly its potentially adverse effect on regular and valid consumers,” it said. It discouraged panic buying and hoarding of fuel and assured the public that fuel supply in areas affected by the unrest was returning to normal.
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