Mandaue backs ban on sale of refilled butane containers

by Norman V. Mendoza
Correspondent

The Mandaue City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance prohibiting the sale and distribution of refilled butane canisters during its session last Wednesday.
Councilor Jimmy Lumapas, proponent of the draft ordinance, said the measure is in keeping with a Department of Energy (DOE) appeal to households not to use butane canisters refilled with either butane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
In a Cebu Daily News story that appeared in June 12 last year, Regional DOE Director Antonio Labios cited a Jan. 7, 2014 circular that prohibits the refilling of butane canisters with LPG.
A 250-gram butane gas canister costs P75 while an 11-kilogram LPG cylinder costs P900. Sari-sari stores reportedly sell butane canisters refilled with LPG for as low as P28.
In Mandaue City, refilled butane canisters sell for P28 each while regular butane canisters sell for P70 each.
A canister is said to be good for three uses while an LPG cylinder lasts for over a month, depending on the usage.
Maximum pressure
But portable butane stoves are designed for outdoor use like camping and not for daily indoor cooking.
Due to its convenience, butane canisters are also used indoors especially in boarding houses.
A portable gas stove is sold in local hardware stores for as low as P600. Some shops throw in three butane gas canisters as a freebie.
Rey Maleza, Energy Industry Management Division supervisor of the DOE regional office, said LPG exerts higher pressure ranging from 480 to 1050 kilopascals (kPa) while butane has a maximum pressure of 485 kPa.
Relief valve
Thus butane canisters are not suited to LPG pressure, Maleza said.
Butane gas canisters have plastic pressure relief valves and are mostly made of tin with their joints soldered.
An LPG cylinder’s pressure relief valve is made of stronger material and its joints are welded, making them sturdier.
Using LPG-refilled butane canisters would expose households to fire hazards since even a small leak can emit gas that can cause an explosion and fire, Maleza said.
Lumapas said the proposed ordinance would ensure the safety of end-users. Based on the Philippine National Standard (PNS), only welded steel cylinders with a capacity of a liter to 150 liters are intended to store LPG.
Under the proposed ordinance, the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) and the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM), in close coordination with the DOE will apprehend haulers of refilled butane canisters.
A citation ticket will be issued to the hauler and the refilled butane canisters will be confiscated by the Mandaue City government for evidence. Violators will be fined P3,000. If found to have no business permit, violators will be fined P5,000.
Subsequent violations will result in the closure of the business./With a story by Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag