In Guyana, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders, also known as cooking gas, are widely available and are a common energy source for households and businesses. To guarantee the safety of consumers and distributors alike, it is crucial to ensure that these cylinders are stored, handled and transported in a safe manner. Likewise, similar precautions must be applied to compressed gas cylinders used for gases such as oxygen and nitrogen under high pressure.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), through the Technical Committee (TC) 29 – Gas Cylinders, recently commenced the review of three National Standards relating to gas cylinders and regulators, which are intended to be made compulsory. These standards are GYS 264 – Specification for the Storage, handling and transportation of LPG cylinders, GYS 453 – Specification for the Storage, handling and transport of steel compressed gas cylinders,and GYS 523 – Specification for Low pressure regulators for use with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
In keeping with international and regional standards development best practices, key standards development stages are being followed. The process commenced with stakeholders’ proposals indicating the importance of revising the standards, followed by approval for the next steps to be taken. After approval, the Technical Committee, comprising critical public and private sector stakeholders, was established to review the standards.
Having been reviewed by the Committee, the standards are currently at the Enquiry Stage, where the GNBS invites the public to review and submit comments, which would be considered for inclusion by the Committee before the standards are finalised. The draft documents are available on the GNBS’ website: https://gnbsgy.org/standardisation/standards-for-public-comments/ where they can be read to facilitate public inputs.
Additionally, to garner comments on the draft Standards from as many stakeholders as possible, GNBS will host two public consultation sessions. The first of these sessions will be on Friday, May 30, 2025, at 10:00h at the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) Head Office, National Exhibition Centre, Sophia, Georgetown, and the second session will be held virtually on Tuesday, June 03, 2025, at 10:00h via Microsoft Teams. The link to the virtual session can be accessed on the GNBS website on the “Standards for Public Comments” page. Stakeholders can also use the following meeting ID and passcode: Meeting ID: 241 653 277 673 4, Passcode: My2oT73N
GNBS encourages stakeholders to participate in the public consultation sessions, especially recognising the intention to make the Standards compulsory. Written comments can also be submitted to the GNBS via the email public.comments@gnbsgy.org by June 13, 2025.
Comments received will be addressed and used to produce the Final Draft Standards which will be sent to the National Standards Council (NSC) for approval as National Standards. Once approved, the Standards will be published, and they are subject to review every five (5) years. For further information, contact the Standardisation Department of the GNBS on 219-0064/66/67 Ext 2013.
