The Energy Commission has released a directive to shopping mall owners
and tenants with piped gas supply to install solenoid valves on their
networks. Especially when it comes to in-mall restaurant kitchens with
cooking stoves, gas leak detector systems must be installed in order for
these valves to shut supply off upon detection of leakage.
This
was revealed at the recent Planning, Managing & Enhancing Building
Safety seminar, organised by Building Management Association of
Malaysia.
According to the directive, mall owners and occupiers
must employ one full-time staff to oversee gas safety. This staff must
ensure that all gas valves are closed and recorded as such by the end of
the day’s operations.
"The directive said immediate action must
be taken but we know that this requires some time and investment, so the
tenant will be given some grace period of, I think, some months to
comply," said the Energy Commission’s head of gas safety, Yusni Sharif.
"Definitely, we have to ensure we do something since gas leakages have
been rampant." Gas explosions within malls have occurred over the last
few years in Maju Junction, KL, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang, as well
as Aeon Jusco, Malacca.
More than five months after the gas
blast at Empire Gallery, in fact, investigation results into the cause
of the incident are yet to be released.
The time frame given by the commission to do so was in fact three months after the incident.
While
unwilling to make any statement, experts from the commission indicated
that the investigation has concluded and that the results are now in the
hands of the Energy Commission’s lawyers.
- The Sun, Malaysia - 30 Mar
2012
