After 3 fatalities, Govt. clamps down on propane gas stations

Santo Domingo.- After the blasts in three propane gasstations in as many weeks that killed three and injured dozens, the Industryand Commerce Ministry on Tuesday announced a temporary halt of the permits toinstall new ones pending a review of their regulations.

The resolution says the decision was taken under urgency torevise the regulations and other norms.

Industry and Commerce said the ban aims to achieve "atechnical regulation as a binding legal instrument and mandatory compliance, toensure uniformity of technical safety criteria and to monitor compliance."

It said the Dominican Quality Institute (Indocal) will call"all public institutions involved in granting permits linked to theinstallation and operation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas stations and privatesector actors related with this activity."

It also ordered an inspection all operating propanestations and assess compliance with safety measures and fire prevention.

The operators of stations have six months from the decision’spublication date to submit their analysis at the Ministry’s Hydrocarbons Dept.and six additional months to implement improvements.

It warns that once the deadlines expire the provisional permitsof the operators that fail to comply with "minimum conditions" willbe suspended.