State must act after blast death: coroner
The death of a young Somali refugee in a gas explosion at his home in Albany was an accident, with a WA Coroner finding between 1kg and 4kg of gas had built up underneath the property and there was no way the family would have known.
Coroner Dominic Mulligan said the death of 18-year-old Barkad Ahmad Muse in July 2012 showed gas leaks could have fatal consequences for innocent members of the public.
He said risk to public safety should be mitigated by ensuring the components used on the Albany Gas Network have been properly designed, tested and are being used within their known tolerances.
The maintenance of Albany’s gas network by utility ATCO Gas Australia came under scrutiny at an inquest into Mr Muse’s death.
His 58-year-old aunt Halimo Farah had serious burns to most of her body from the explosion and resulting fire at their rental home.
His three siblings had minor injuries.
In findings released today, Mr Mulligan recommended the Government take prompt steps to help customers of the Albany Gas Network potentially affected by the risk of leaking un-odorised liquefied petroleum gas making its way undetected into or beneath their properties.
“This may include, but is not limited to, publishing advice as to the desirability of adequately ventilating properties without vapour barriers so that LPG will be likely be dispersed rather than being allowed to pool, and other safety advice aimed at informing the Albany community of the risk posed by leaking LPG and the need to report it to ATCO so that the repairs can be undertaken in a timely manner before it can pose a significant risk to the community,” Mr Mulligan said.
The inquest revealed 1kg to 4kg of gas had pooled under Mr Muse’s house and had come from a gas main 15m from the property.
Albany ATCO had identified a “small leak” seven months before the explosion and repaired the pipe in February, fitting a new compression coupling.
After the explosion on July 20 last year, ATCO identified 640 potential locations in Albany where similar fittings were used and found 122 minor leaks, which forced the utility to upgrade the network.
ATCO bought most of the WA gas network, including Albany, 12 months earlier.
Mr Muse, who had arrived in Australia with his siblings only four months earlier, was trapped in the home after a wall collapsed on him.
Mr Mulligan recommended EnergySafety undertake an audit of ATCO’s training manuals relating to components used in the Albany Gas Network, in order to confirm whether the training provided by ATCO to its employees correctly state the tolerances and limitations in which the components can be safely and properly used and that the correct methods of installing, working on and removing the component in question are taught to employees working on the Albany gas network.
Mr Mulligan also recommended the Government reconsider regulations around gas supply and system safety “with a view to clarify whether it is intended that the regulation applies in circumstances where LPG travels a significant distance from the point of discharge, through soil, and is consequently stripped of its odorant but remains at explosive concentrations”.
thewest.com