The State of West Virginia now requires that propane technicians be trained, certified, and licensed. The Chemical Safety Board issued the recommendation following the CSB investigation of a propane explosion at the Little General Store in Ghent, WV, that occurred on Jan. 30, 2007. The blast killed four people and seriously injured five others. The CSB found that a junior propane service technician was preparing to transfer propane, unsupervised, from an old to a new tank located next to an outside wall of the store. The technician removed a safety plug from a malfunctioning liquid withdrawal valve, causing an uncontrollable release of propane, which entered the store through the restroom ventilation system.
The technician had only 45 days of limited on-the-job training with his supervisor. The CSB recommended this training be equivalent to the Certified Employee Training program (CETP) developed by the propane industry. The CSB investigation found many employers in the industry use CETP to train and certify employees on a number of topics including safe work practices during delivery and installation of propane tanks for homes, businesses, and bulk shipping. The bill approved by the West Virginia legislature requires completion of CETP for anyone working with liquefied petroleum gas systems in the state. The requirements of the bill went into effect on July 1, 2009, and the State Fire Marshal’s office reported to the CSB that the code was updated in June 2010 to implement the legislative mandate requiring certification and licensing.