The safety of paraffin and LPG appliances for domestic use

Abstract

Households have an absolute need for thermal energy, particularly for cooking. Poorer households use coal, dung, fuelwood, LPG and paraffin. Unpressurised paraffin appliances are far from safe. The temperature in the fuel tank can easily exceed the flashpoint of the fuel, when the appliance becomes a time bomb waiting to “explode”. In contrast LPG appliances are safe, with annual incidents at least two orders of magnitude lower than those involving paraffin. The White Paper on energy required proper standards for paraffin appliances, but these are slow in evolving and do not address the hazards identified above.