Lagos State Government says it is working on a law to regulate sales of high risk and toxic chemicals which may have negative impact on the people. All those who sell such items will now be required to obtain certificate of safety from the Lagos State Government to operate in the state.
Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission,(LSSC) Dominga Odebunmi made the revelation while reacting to the near-fatal experience of students of Ogba Junior High School who fainted after inhaling poisonous chemicals and were eventually admitted at the Lagos State University Hospital, LASUTH.
She stated that the commission is working together with the Ministry of the Environment to ensure that such a menace does not happen again adding that manufacturers of chemicals and users of chemicals should put every safety measures in place.
‘’From the investigation so far, there have been so many unsafe handling of chemicals and illegal operation within the state such as fuel, gas depots or tankers, and we are saying that these have to stop in the state because we will link gas tankers to the companies and they will have to face the wrath of the law severely because these are impacting negatively on the lives of the citizens and its giving the state a bad name’.’
She said the commission has been looking into a lot of safety policies and standards that are existing in various organizations especially those who handle chemicals regularly.
Odebunmi said this will give rise to the need for the Commission to constantly review the policies and how they are operated in the state. She stated that the safety commission has been working closely with relevant ministries and other government aagencies in the state, adding that she has had a number of meetings with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on the issues that affect Lagos State.
‘’ We have had quite a number of interactions to address the grey areas because these grey areas are seriously affecting the lives of the people and the property that we have in the state. The commission is quite close to fine-tuning the operations and requirements. And it is now necessary for every of such operations to obtain their safety certificate from Lagos State.
In addition to the DPR approval, this is to ensure compliance and corporation in the state as it is done anywhere else in the world’’
She explained that there will be an umbrella and a local legislation that operators will have to comply with adding that the commission encouraged trade and commerce, but that it has to be done safely urging all the operators to carry out a thorough risk assessment in their operation.
