Once again about the causes of explosions: odorization of domestic gas must be preserved

Vladimir Garmatyuk, Vologda

On December 4, 2022, in the city of Nizhnevartovsk, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, there was an explosion of household gas in an apartment building. 6 people died, 4 more are in the hospital.

On November 19, 2022, at 1 pm in the village of Tymovskoye on Sakhalin, in an apartment on the ground floor of a five-story building (according to an eyewitness and video recording from a surveillance camera), an explosion occurred due to a gas leak and its subsequent ignition. As a result, the entrance of the house collapsed and 8 people died.

Earlier, on April 11, 2022, in the city of Stupino, Moscow Region, a gas explosion occurred in a five-story building at 5:54 am. 6 people were killed (including three children) and 19 people were injured and injured. According to the victim himself, it turned out that the man decided to smoke in the toilet in the morning, struck a lighter and an explosion.

On March 12, 2022, in the city of Voronezh, at 3:30 a.m., an explosion of a “gas-air mixture” was heard in a multi-storey building. Interfloor overlapping collapsed, a fire broke out in several apartments, residents were evacuated. A woman died - born in 1934 and a man - born in 1991

This is what the online edition “Notebook-Voronezh” writes about on March 12, 2022:

As often happens, boiling water in a saucepan on a gas stove flooded the burner, the fire went out, the grandmother just forgot to turn off the tap, and the grandson woke up at night and decided to smoke ...

Even earlier, on December 31, 2018 in Magnitogorsk at 6-02 am a gas explosion in a nine-story panel building. The entire entrance collapsed from the explosion. 39 people died.

On March 16, 2004 in Arkhangelsk, the entrance of a 9-storey panel building collapsed from an explosion, killing 58 people.

And there were many other cases throughout the countries that are not listed here.

Why do gas explosions occur, and who is to blame for them?

Recently, in some regions of Russia, gas supplied through pipes to apartments and pumped into cylinders at gas filling stations has ceased to smell.

People in the old fashioned way since the times of the USSR think that household gas should have a smell. And when they do not smell, they believe that they do not have a gas leak and they are safe.

A large number of people are not aware at all that gas suppliers must add some kind of strong-smelling additives to the gas. Many Russian media do not know this either and do not tell readers anything. You can go check it yourself right now and make sure whether the gas (from the gas stove) smells in your apartment or not.

The gas is inherently odorless.

In the USSR, gas had a specific unpleasant odor because suppliers added special additives to it, doing the so-called odorization. They did it for the purpose of safety, so that people, smelling gas, would check whether they forgot to close the tap on the stove and ventilate the room, and, not seeing the reasons for the leak, would call the emergency gas service. In Soviet times, everywhere in the entrances of residential buildings there were announcements: "If you smell gas, then call 04."

Now there are no such announcements because gas suppliers (in some regions) do not do odorization, which should be carried out according to the "Technical Conditions".

Most likely, odorization is not done to reduce costs. This makes it easier for gas suppliers, they have less trouble, and in addition profit, although in exchange for security. Everything in the world of capital is converted into money. The "Golden Calf" collects its "tribute".

Plus, the “gas workers” annually go from house to house and collect additional profit from the residents - they came and looked at the gas stove (column) and issued an invoice in the amount equal to the semi-annual or annual cost of the entire volume of gas supplied. Thus, it turns out that people pay twice for gas. In the USSR, they did not take money for inspection, and gas suppliers did repairs of gas water heaters and stoves for free.

As in the case of the technical inspection of cars - inspection of gas stoves once a year is not an effective exercise and (under the pretext of ensuring safety) is most of all aimed at making a profit. People use gas equipment every day, and therefore the problem of the lack of gas odorization is not solved by examining the stoves. It is necessary to check not consumers, but gas odorization from suppliers.

Residents themselves are primarily interested in ensuring that they do not have a gas leak in their apartment. If people could smell the gas, they called the emergency gas service. And thus, as in the USSR, there would be no serious consequences of gas explosions in houses with numerous victims and people would not die.

On November 3, 2021, a proposal was submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation - on the adoption by the Government of the Russian Federation of the Decree: "On mandatory gas odorization, on control over gas suppliers and on the abolition of extortions from the population."

However, "things are still there," as the ancient Greek thinker Socrates said: "Whoever wants - looks for a way, who does not want - looks for a reason." Someone has an interest not to do odorization, and the inspectors to make a profit for walking around the apartments.

Without gas odorization, people do not feel completely safe.

Where, from whom, on what day the next gas explosion will happen is unknown

Therefore, gas odorization must be fully restored!

In the USSR, gas odorization was done. And in all European countries, odorization is currently being done. And in Russia, instead of odorization, they make money on people's lives.

Who is ultimately responsible in Russia for gas explosions and deaths?

– Gas suppliers who do not odorize, officials who do not accept regulatory documents on the control of mandatory gas odorization and silent media that hide the truth and the essence of the problems.

That is, the vices of people: self-interest, indifference and cowardice of betrayal.

As the Russian writer M.A. Bulgakov in his novel The Master and Margarita: “Cowardice is one of the most terrible human vices. — No, I dare to object to you. Cowardice is the worst human vice."

PS

On November 24, 2022, I sent a proposal to Rospotrebnadzor addressed to the President of the Russian Federation to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation to check the gas odorization in the networks of suppliers in all regions using gas in everyday life and always do this from now on, and to the Ministry of Finance to recover budget expenses for damages to the families of the victims - from the perpetrators of the lack of odorization.