FAQ
Index of questions:
- Why is paraffin harmful?
- What can I do to prevent paraffin accidents?
- I don’t use paraffin, why should I be worried about paraffin safety?
- What does the Paraffin Safety Association do?
- How can I help?
- What is the danger associated with paraffin (kerosene)? Why is it so dangerous?
- How many harmful incidents happen each year in South Africa?
- How much paraffin is used in the domestic setting in South Africa?
- Why has it not been arranged for Paraffin to have some colorant in it so that it will not be mistaken as water by children?
- I am not able to access the internet, but would like to register and receive more information. How do I go about it?
- What is the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) commitments?
1. Why is paraffin harmful?
Paraffin should always be handled with extreme care. Paraffin can burn your skin even if it is not lit. It is poisonous and can cause severe illness, even, death if it is swallowed. Paraffin is often sold in containers contaminated with chemicals such as petrol or even purposely mixed with volatile fuels such as methylated spirits. This can cause it to flare dangerously or even explode. Paraffin can cause sever burns and paraffin stoves that are knocked over or explode are a major cause of injuries and fires in informal settlements. Paraffin is also emits harmful fumes when ignited.
2. What can I do to prevent paraffin accidents?
Fires and burns - prevention:
- Never leave a paraffin appliance unattended. It only takes a second for a gust of wind, pet or child to knock over a light or stove.
- Make sure paraffin appliances are on a flat, firm surface.
- Do not put a cloth under a paraffin appliance. A child or pet could pull the trailing end and the cloth will burn and help fuel the fire.
- Always have a bucket of sand nearby when using a paraffin appliance. Water will not put out a paraffin fire and can make matters worse by spreading the flames. Paraffin fires can only be extinguished using sand or a fire extinguisher.
- Keep lighters and matches away from children and never store paraffin near matches, lighters or
lit paraffin appliances.
Fires and burns - treatment:
- If your clothing catches fire, drop to the ground and roll to put out the flames. Running around will make matters worse.
- If someone else is on fire, roll them in a blanket or jacket. This will prevent air getting to the fire and will put it out.
- If someone has been burned, very gently pour cold water onto the burn and get the person to a doctor, clinic or hospital immediately.
- If the burn is over a large area keep the person warm as there is a serious risk they will go into shock. Get them medical attention as quickly as possible.
- If you spill paraffin, remove any clothing it has spilt on and wash the skin with soap and water. Paraffin can burn your skin even when it is not lit.
Poisoning - prevention:
- Do not leave children unsupervised and make sure they understand that paraffin is dangerous.
- Try to buy pre-packaged paraffin in a container with a childproof or safety cap. Always replace the cap after use. Never store paraffin in a used milk or cooldrink bottle as a child could mistakenly drink it. When pouring paraffin, use a funnel not a cup. Children could think that because paraffin is poured from a cup it is safe to drink.
- Keep children away from paraffin appliances and make sure that there’s enough fresh air so children are not breathing in dangerous fumes.
Poisoning - treatment:
- Paraffin is poisonous. Never let a child drink any. They could become very ill, even die.
- If a child accidentally swallows paraffin, do not give them anything to eat or drink. Get the child medical attention as soon as possible.
- Never try to make someone who has drunk paraffin vomit. This could force the paraffin into the lungs.
By following these few simple hints, you can help prevent and treat paraffin incidents. You can also assist
Paraffin Safety by sharing this information with friends, family and colleagues – it could help save
someone’s life.
3. I don’t use paraffin, why should I be worried about paraffin safety?
Besides the incalculable human tragedy caused by paraffin-related incidents, we should all be outraged at the tremendous cost of fire fighting, rebuilding burnt down houses and housing homeless communities. This is money that could and should be used for social upliftment, providing housing, sanitation, healthcare and the host of other priorities government has committed itself to delivering.
4. What does the Paraffin Safety Association do?
The Paraffin Safety Association’s aim is to reduce the appalling number of paraffin-related deaths and injuries by:
- Providing information to people who are forced to use paraffin for cooking, heating and light about how to use this potentially dangerous fuel safely;
- Lobbying for legislation to prevent the sale of dangerous paraffin equipment, ensure paraffin is sold in safe, child proof-containers and set basic chemical standards for the fuel;
- Researching, collating and interpreting information about paraffin safety.
5. How can I help?
The most important thing you can do is adhere to safe paraffin practices in your own home. Other ways to help are by telling you friends and neighbours about safe paraffin practices. You can also apply to the Paraffin Safety Association to become a voluntary community information officer. You can do this by simply calling 0861 224422.
6. What is the danger associated with paraffin (kerosene)? Why is it so dangerous?
Paraffin is dangerous because:
- It is poisonous and yet looks like water. This results in many unintentional ingestions.
- It is flammable and becomes unstable if contaminated. Its flashpoint (43 degrees in South Africa) is lowered if mixed with petrol which has a lower flashpoint.
- It is not sold in clearly identifiable, child-resistant packaging (difficult for children to open). It is sold in bulk and can therefore easily get in harm’s way.
- It is generally used in a domestic setting with an open flame.
- Children are found in a domestic setting and cannot be watched every second of the day. Paraffin is often within reach of children.
- It is used in sub-standard appliances that are unsafe.
- It is used in confined, poorly ventilated home spaces.
- Paraffin users are not aware of the dangers associated with using paraffin and so inadvertently place themselves or their households at risk.
If paraffin (kerosene) is used correctly and in a safe appliance and is not contaminated with substances such as petrol, should be a safe source of energy. Being a fuel, it is naturally flammable by definition yet it can become unstable if it is contaminated with a substance such as petrol (gasoline) which has a lower flashpoint. Contamination is most likely to take place as a result of the customer bringing a container along that was previously used for storage of other liquids.
7. How many harmful incidents happen each year in South Africa?
Harmful incidents in this context refer mainly to poisoning by ingestion, fire and burns. It is impossible to come up with definitive figures because it is so difficult to get hold of this sort of data. Many cases do not reach the formal healthcare system. For those cases that do reach the healthcare system, it is difficult to get meaningful data. Hospitals are generally not geared to recording data for the prioritisation of preventative services and rather focus on curative services. For hospitals, diagnosis rather than injury is more useful for effective treatment and when patients are referred to secondary and tertiary facilities to higher level facilities, the external cause of injury is not always noted.
In terms of fires, statistics are very hard to come by. The majority of fire incidents responded to have an unknown cause. One reason is the fear of reprisal. The persons in whose home the fire started, fear being victimised. The nature of fire mean that it will be hard to determine if a paraffin appliance or paraffin stored in a home was the cause or contributor to a particular blaze.
Estimates of incidents range wildly and Paraffin Safety Association has continued to commission research with sufficiently high samples to extrapolate national estimates that are meaningful. Most people working in the field (such as paediatric and burns health professionals as well as emergency services) agree that the number is unacceptably high and runs into many thousands of incidents every year.
8. How much paraffin is used in the domestic setting in South Africa?
The national sales figure for paraffin for 2002 was 745 million litres. As with quantifying the number of harmful incidents are concerned, it is difficult to quantify exactly how much of this figure was used in the domestic setting for the following reasons:
- The national sales figures available from SAPIA (South African Petroleum Industry Association) cannot isolate any misuse of paraffin. The national figures have declined significantly as a result of improved control of unscrupulous resellers (downstream from oil company depots) who were spiking diesel with paraffin in order to avoid the cost of tax on diesel sales. This resulted in the
national annual sales figure being distorted. It has declined in recent years due to a dying agent being placed in paraffin to change the colour of diesel if it is spiked with paraffin. In 2003, 583 million litres have been sold between January and September. - The vast majority, but not all of this paraffin goes to domestic consumption. Statistics are based on sales by the oil companies to resellers for the domestic market and other identifiable sectors (for example, fishing or mining). It is impossible to tell exactly how much is consumed in the domestic setting.
- It is very difficult to estimate the number of households using paraffin because:
- Many households use multiple sources on energy (fro example, paraffin, wood, coal and electricity).
- Paraffin is a “poor man’s fuel” and there is a stigma attached to being a paraffin user. This may result in under-reporting on the number of users in surveys.
- It is not yet clear what sort of estimate consumption each household uses in a given month or for a given meal for a set number of persons. This makes it impossible to reverse engineer an estimate
The SAPIA site has summary statistics for all major petroleum products.
9. Why has it not been arranged for Paraffin to have some colorant in it so that it will not be mistaken as water by children?
Ongoing research needs to be done about this option. The problems with choosing an alternative colour for paraffin include:
- What colour do you choose? Beverages are available in almost every colour imaginable
- Paraffin-using communities have come to associate the degree of coloration inversely with the degree of purity. They consider their paraffin to be “pure” if it is colourless.
- Our research from Umlazi (Prince Mshiyeni Hospital) shows that the age that is most susceptable to ingestions are between 12 and 24 months. See this graph as an indication; Graph of Paraffin Ingestions
As a matter of interest:
- If paraffin is contaminated with a little diesel, it appears a little cloudy
- If paraffin is exposed to sunlight, it yellows
- If paraffin is contaminated with sufficient quantities of petrol, it may also be discoloured although the smell may be a more important clue.
10. I am not able to access the internet, but would like to register and receive more information. How do I go about it?
Interested parties could send us a written request by fax (+27 +21 671-0233) or eMail to info@pasasa.org with your name, phone numbers and any other contact details. You may also call us on (+27 +21 671-5767) and we will gladly assist you.
11. What is the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) commitments?
These commitments are to ensure sustainable use of resources, reduced energy use and emissions for a more sustainable future and to help combat climate change. Manufacture of the container must be able to make use of locally available quality materials, expertise and labour.