VTC Training for Gas Installers

Gas installers are the key to gas safety: working on the front-line, they ensure that appliances are correctly fitted and remind users of proper usage and maintenance procedures. Even before the Gas Safety Ordinance was enacted, the Gas Standards Office (GasSO) saw an urgent need for standardised training of these skilled workers, and made the necessary arrangements with the Vocational Training Council (VTC).

To date, the Council has trained thousands of gas installers to carry out installation work in accordance with Hong Kong conditions and codes of practice, and international standards. It now also provides training for LPG vehicle mechanics.

Codes of Practice and Guidelines

The development of codes of practice and guidelines has been crucial to achieving the standardisation of work and widespread adherence to the best practices that characterise the local gas industry today.

GasSO started to develop codes of practice and guidelines in conjunction with the launching of the VTC training, both in the mid-1980s. To date, we have 24 codes of practice and guidelines in use.

Balanced Flue Gas Water Heaters

Balanced flue gas water heaters were introduced in the early 1980s to replace flueless gas water heaters in bathrooms after the latter claimed several lives in 1979 as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The use of the much safer balanced flue water heater was reinforced by an amendment to the Buildings Regulations in 1983, which mandated a flue aperture in all bathrooms of new residential flats. The result was a dramatic reduction of gas incidents in the bathroom.

Flexible Gas Tubing Standards

A number of incidents in the early 1980s alerted us to the need to prohibit use of unsafe gas tubing. We studied standards from many countries and consulted with the trade to develop a set of standards for Hong Kong for flexible gas tubing, which became mandatory in the mid-1980s.

This was another major step towards eliminating the root cause of many of the gas incidents that occurred in the early days.

Approval of Domestic Gas Appliances

The years since 2000 saw many improvements in the regulation of gas appliances. Among the most important was the introduction, in 2002, of the mandatory “Approval of Domestic Gas Appliances” under the Gas Safety Ordinance. This requires that all domestic gas appliances sold in Hong Kong must be approved by the Gas Authority. Approved appliances carry the GU Mark to signify they have been manufactured in accordance with international safety standards and local operating requirements.

The GU Mark has become a mark of consumer confidence when it comes to gas appliance purchase.

Flame Failure Devices

During the 1980s, a number of Hong Kong householders experienced gas incidents when a draught blew out the flame on their gas stoves, resulting in gas leakage. In response, we engaged the trade to widely introduce gas cooking appliances fitted with flame failure devices. This requirement eliminated the cause of such incidents and also made the device much more affordable for consumers through the economy of scale thus created.

As a result, flame failure incidents have rapidly declined since the 1990s. The enactment of the mandatory domestic gas appliance approval requirement in 2002 made it compulsory for all gas cooking appliances to be fitted with such safety devices.

Excess Flow Valves

LPG cylinder regulators and relatively new supply points of piped gas installations are fitted with an excess flow valve, which automatically cuts off the gas supply under abnormal conditions such as leakage of gas. This safety feature was introduced in the 1990s and brought about a reduction in gas leakage incidents, especially those in connection with LPG cylinder installations.

The fitting of excess flow valve on the LPG fuel supply system is also one of the key safety design features of LPG vehicles used in Hong Kong.

Additional Safety Measures for LPG Road Tankers

The safety requirements for LPG road tankers are particularly stringent, given the hazards of transporting flammable substance in bulk.

In 1991, we mandated additional safety measures, including the installation of an engine overrun prevention device, and a device to cut off the fuel supply to the engine in an emergency. In addition, all LPG road tankers in Hong Kong must be coated with a fire resistant material that provides protection against explosion for up to an hour under a pool fire situation.

LPG Taxi Scheme

The LPG taxi trial was launched in 1997 to help alleviate air pollution in Hong Kong. With its success, the Policy Address 1999 announced that financial assistance would be provided for taxi owners to replace their diesel taxis with LPG vehicles. To support the refilling of LPG taxis, the first batch of dedicated LPG filling stations was commissioned in 2000.

Today almost all the 18,000 taxis in Hong Kong run on LPG. The fleet is well supported by a territory-wide infrastructure of LPG filling stations and trained mechanics. A similar scheme to encourage light buses to switch from diesel to LPG was introduced in 2002. Some 2,900 LPG light buses are now on the road.