Three weeks after a tanker truck carrying LP gas exploded in Mexico City, the federal government on Thursday announced two new regulations for the transportation and distribution of the fuel.
Energy Minister Luz Elena González outlined the new regulations at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference.
The new rules “strengthen the regulation of the transportation and distribution of liquified petroleum gas,” she said.
González said that one of the new regulations applies to the transport of LP gas from refineries or “points of importation” to “plants or storage terminals.”
The other regulation applies to “last mile” distribution to businesses and homes, she said.
Under the new regulations, companies that transport and distribute LP gas will be required to demonstrate to the government’s Security, Energy and Environmental Agency (ASEA) on an annual basis that their vehicles are adequately maintained.
González said that a current regulation requires companies to have maintenance programs for their vehicles, but doesn’t require them to “demonstrate their compliance.”
She said that the new regulations will also “demand the accreditation of safety tests.”
González said that a current regulation obliges companies to carry out visual inspections of vehicles and “leak tests,” but there is no obligation to “periodically present hydrostatic pressure tests except in cases of damage, accidents or repairs of the containers.”
The carrying out of hydrostatic tests, which will become compulsory, “guarantee” the safe operation of vehicle containers filled with LP gas, she said.
“In the two new regulations, not just external visual inspections will be required but also internal visual inspections of vehicle containers, and, in addition, the permit holders will be obliged to periodically present [the results of] hydrostatic pressure tests of all vehicles,” González said.
The energy minister said that the new regulations will also strengthen requirements for drivers to have “adequate training, not just in driving but also in industrial safety.”
Horrific gas tanker explosion in Mexico City claims 8 lives, injures 90
“The current regulation establishes the obligation to have training programs for drivers, but these are generic and left to the discretion of each company. With these two new regulations, it is mandatory that this training be technical and practical, and that it be certified through a specific competency standard, both for the transport and distribution of LP gas,” she said.
González said that the new regulations will also require vehicles transporting LP gas to be equipped with speed limiters and GPS.
The tanker truck that exploded in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa on Sept. 10 was speeding when it overturned and hit a wall, according to authorities. The explosion eventually claimed more than 30 lives.
González noted that the two new regulations will be published in the federal government’s official gazette on Friday. She said that all LP gas distribution vehicles must show that they are complying with the new regulation that applies to them within four months.
“The rest of the units will be able to demonstrate their compliance during the next six months,” González said.
“In addition to the publication of the two regulations, a joint inspection program is being implemented by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport, the National Energy Commission, and ASEA,” she said.
“These agencies will review, at the regulated entities’ facilities, the physical and mechanical conditions of vehicles, the safety elements of the containers, the validity of permits, the consistency of records in the vehicle registry, and evidence of compliance with obligations under the applicable regulations,” she said.
Separately, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada announced earlier this week 13 measures that are aimed at making the transportation of hazardous materials in the capital safer.
One of the rules that vehicles transporting dangerous substances will have to follow is not exceeding 30 kilometers per hour, no matter the speed limit of the road they are on.
Mexico News Daily
