Mannix Porterfield
Mandatory training for propane gas handlers, an idea inspired by the tragedy at a Ghent convenience store last year, is the thrust of safety legislation being crafted by Delegate Virginia Mahan for the 2009 session.
“Right now, that’s the main thing we’re looking at,” Mahan, D-Summers, said Wednesday as she continued to study a government report on the Jan. 30, 2007, blast that killed four people and left five others with critical injuries at the Ghent Little General Store.
Considered key factors by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in the tragic explosion were the absence of training for all parties involved and the placement of the ill-fated tank.
“We’re going to pore over that report very carefully to see if there’s anything else we need to be concerned with,” Mahan said.
“To me, the recommendations they made are no-brainers. We probably should have done those a long time ago, but nothing like that ever happened.”
Mahan said a number of recommendations won’t require any legislative acts but merely can be executed as policy matters by various agencies in state government.
Several agencies plan to confer with Gov. Joe Manchin’s administration and Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis to see what can be done administratively without seeking special legislation.
Assuming he wins re-election, Manchin could embrace the propane handling proposal as part of his State of the State message, the delegate said.
“I told them that’s fine with me,” she said. “If they want to do it, however it gets done, it needs to get done.”
In current practice, propane handlers are given on-the-job training, but it isn’t mandatory. Another factor Mahan is eyeing is an end to the tank-to-tank transfer.
“That might be one of the things we need to take a look at,” she said. “Whether it’s legislative or policy, I’m not sure. We’re going to look at everything as it comes up in conversation and work with the fire marshal and their folks.”
Mahan suggested federal authorities might want to consider the type of valve in use at the Ghent store.
“It was faulty from the get-go,” she said. “They probably need to be looking at that. And that’s something I don’t think the state of West Virginia is going to be able to fix. If you think about how many of these tanks are sitting around and how many of these technicians are out there, you want them to have some training.”
Training in general will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee, on which Mahan serves, in deference to a proliferation of propane gas tanks across the state, especially in rural pockets.
“I live in the country,” she said. “A lot of us use wood stoves. Some have gas heat. Some have electric baseboard heat. All of those things have expenses and drawbacks. Gas heat is commonly used by seniors. Just about every little church has them. This incident at Ghent was something completely different. I don’t think they understood the magnitude of what could happen.”
Mahan began drawing up her proposal after meeting with the board’s lead investigator, Jeff Wanko, and his underlings.
“Our complacency has been forever broken by this explosion and the resulting injury and loss of life,” she said. “I feel certain that most all, if not all, lawmakers will agree to these proposals.”
If additional legislation is deemed needed beyond the training bill, Mahan said, it will be introduced by her, provided she is re-elected in the Nov. 4 general election.
“While I have every intention of aggressively pursuing such measures during the 2009 legislative session, I also hope that in the meantime, those of us participating in the election-related matters remain mindful that this devastating accident is still very raw and painful for the loved ones of those who perished,” she said.
Presumably, she said, the same people who install and refill propane tanks in commercial outlets deal with individual consumers.
“We’re certainly going to look at what we can do just to make the consumer feel safer and make those technicians a little more confident,” Mahan added.
— E-mail:
mannix@register-herald.com
