The real cost of do-it-yourself compressed natural gas (CNG) conversions has hit home this month with two serious incidents costing one life and narrowly avoiding killing several more. One man died in Melaka, Malaysia earlier this month while refuelling a van which had been reportedly fitted with an LPG cooking cylinder instead of properly certified high-pressure CNG cylinders. Three others were seriously injured in the incident. Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, USA, 4 children were hospitalized after natural gas fumes leaked into their vehicle during refuelling, due to leaks in the high pressure piping and fittings, reportedly the result of a home conversion to CNG.
The incident in Malaysia has prompted ANGVA (the Asia-Pacific Natural Gas Vehicles Association) to issue a warning to natural gas vehicle users in Malaysia and other parts of Asia about the dangers of do-it-yourself or ‘backyard’ conversions. In a statement released via the ANGVA website, Executive Director Lee Giok Seng said, “LPG tanks and any other cylinders not specifically designed for CNG use must not in any circumstances or situations be allowed to be filled with CNG. There are already too many cases of LPG cylinders and other gases cylinders such as CO2, N2, O2 and Acetylene cylinders, including welded steel pipes that had been used to fill CNG with catastrophe results. Using non-CNG cylinders (including sub-standard CNG cylinders) and welded pipes for CNG is very dangerous.”
Ironically, the Malaysian incident precedes two industry safety workshops being convened by ANGVA, one in Dhaka, Bangladesh and the other in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ANGVA holds the workshops on a frequent basis throughout cities in Asia in an effort to address what Mr Lee calls ‘the ignorance factor’ which leads to incidents such as these. Mr Lee says that anyone considering converting their vehicle should take it to a reputable and certified workshop.
The US incident arose after a man refuelled his vehicle with natural gas, returning to find his four children drifting in and out of concsiousness. Though methane, the prime component of natural gas is non-toxic, in the confines of the car, it apparently displaced oxygen, leading to oxygen deprivataion for the children in the vehicle. Fortunately, all four children were discharged from hospital after a short while.
The incident led to warnings from the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation (CVEF) and NGVAmerica in the US to have conversions and service work on natural gas vehicles by properly trained personnel.
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