Why hasn't it been repaired for nearly half a year? After the "no gas use" warning, 27 households in a building in Shanghai leaked gas | residents | leaked gas
"If the gas is cut off on such a hot day, you can still use an induction cooker to cook. What about taking a shower?"
Recently, residents of Zhongtong Building, No.1 Huangxing Road, Yangpu District, reported that since the beginning of this year's Spring Festival, 27 households in the building have been detected to have gas leaks, and then valves have been tightened to prohibit gas use. If there is a gas leak, it is necessary to immediately arrange for hidden danger investigation and repair. Unexpectedly, after the residents of Zhongtong Building were notified to "prohibit gas use", there was no further action. Some residents had been "out of gas" for several months, and the lack of gas use seriously affected their normal lives. Some residents have no choice but to unscrew the valve on their own and continue using gas despite the danger
Gas leaks are related to safety, and it is not a small matter that multiple leaks have occurred within a building. Why has the hidden danger of gas leakage in Zhongtong Building not been eliminated for a long time?
The picture shows Zhongtong Building.
"Half cooked lunch and the gas was turned off."
"The latest on-site inspection by Shibei Gas was before the Dragon Boat Festival," Ms. Fan, a resident on the 11th floor of Zhongtong Building, recalled that she was cooking lunch at home at around 10am on June 17th. Halfway through the stir fry, the staff of Shibei Gas knocked on the door and led Ms. Fan to the gas pipeline well on the side of the house. "As soon as the handheld instrument approaches the pipeline, it beeps incessantly," Ms. Fan said. The staff of the gas company explained to her, indicating that there is a leak in the pipeline. Subsequently, the staff hung a small yellow paper warning sign on the pipeline that read "No gas allowed without rectification". After saying "No more," they tightened the valve above the gas meter, regardless of what Ms. Fan did with the remaining dishes.
After detecting a leak, Shibei Gas will hang a "No Gas Use" warning sign and turn on the gas valve to prohibit residents from continuing to use gas.
The Zhongtong Building has a total of 29 floors, with the bottom 7 floors being commercial facilities. From the 8th to the 29th floors, there are several to 16 units of houses distributed in a "loop" shape on each floor, with a total of over 300 households. The phenomenon of gas leakage had already occurred before this year's Spring Festival. Ms. Nie, a resident on the 22nd floor, said that at that time, she could occasionally smell the smell of gas at home. Some residents in the building also felt the same way. For safety reasons, some residents called the gas hotline and asked for on-site testing to confirm whether there was any gas leakage.
The picture shows the interior of Zhongtong Building, with houses ranging in number from 16 on each floor in a "loop" shape from the 8th to the 29th floors.
During a large-scale inspection before the Spring Festival, it was found that there were leaks in the gas pipelines of more than 10 households. Ms. Nie said that leaks were found in the pipelines of households 2202, 2209, and 2210 only on the 22nd floor. On July 2nd, the reporter arrived at the 22nd floor of the building and opened the wooden door of the gas well on the right side of the door to room 2209. It can be seen that the main gas pipeline, household gas meters, and some inlet pipelines of the building are all arranged inside the gas well. Ms. Nie found the warning sign that had fallen on the ground and pointed to the bend connection between the main pipeline and a section of horizontal pipeline connecting the meter. At that time, the instrument detection showed that this was where the leak occurred. Due to the valve being screwed on, the reporter cannot smell the smell of gas on site now.
Residents claim that the bend connection between the main pipeline on the upper and lower right side of the diagram and a section of horizontal pipeline connecting the meter is the main leakage point.
Due to the need for residents to cooperate in the testing, it is not possible to detect all pipes in residents' homes at once. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, staff from Shibei Gas came to inspect again and found more leaks in the pipeline inside the building. According to residents, as of now, a total of 27 households have received notices prohibiting the use of gas. For some leaks, Shibei Gas took simple measures such as applying glue, and there has been no further action since then.
What should I do without gas? "The leakage is so severe, who dares to open it without permission?" Ms. Nie said that for several months, many residents have had to silently endure the inconvenience in their lives. Some residents have temporarily solved the problem of cooking and cooking by adding induction cookers to their homes, but taking a shower is always a problem, so they can only boil some hot water to wipe themselves off. Ms. Fan's 86 year old wife couldn't bear the hot weather and couldn't take a shower, so she temporarily moved out to another house in the suburbs. She asked, "When will the renovation be carried out? What day will we stay up until?"
Non regular users belong to the category of "private sub meters"
Gas leaks can easily lead to safety accidents, and simply turning on the valve to stop using gas is clearly not enough. Why hasn't the subsequent pipeline rectification and repair kept up with the discovery of leakage phenomenon, which has been almost half a year?
A rectification notice presented by Chen Yi, the deputy director of the business committee of Zhongtong Building, revealed the reason. This is a notice issued by Shibei Gas to the residents inside the building in October last year. The notice pointed out that during routine inspections, Shibei Gas found that there were no gas leakage alarms for more than 300 household gas in the building. It was later added that it belonged to a "private sub meter" and must be rectified. What is a "private sub table"? The literal meaning is not difficult to understand, which means that the gas meters used by residents in the building are privately connected, rather than being installed by the gas company after applying to the gas company.
The picture shows the "Rectification Notice" issued by Shibei Gas to the residents in the building as a whole in October last year.
Are over 300 households privately connected to gas? Shibei Gas confirmed that the developer of Zhongtong Building applied for the installation of a gas main meter in 1997. The gas points used by residents were all connected from the main meter, belonging to their own management of the "post meter section".
Chen Yi explained that compared to ordinary residential areas, the gas used in Zhongtong Building is indeed different in terms of application and usage. The Zhongtong Building was completed and delivered in 1997, and was previously managed by the former "Chengchun" property management. When residents move in, if they need to use gas, they need to apply to Chengchun Property, and then the property will open it up. The daily gas fees are also collected from residents by Chengchun Property, and residents do not have a direct relationship with Shibei Gas. An informed resident inside the building further revealed that the gas used by the residents upstairs is actually connected from the commercial facilities downstairs. The developer has installed gas main pipelines up and down, and the previous Chengchun Property outsourced the maintenance and operation of gas in the building to a company, which is responsible for installing gas meters for residents and opening them for use.
The emergence of such a complex gas consumption pattern is related to the twists and turns that occurred during the development of Zhongtong Building. It is said that the developer was replaced during the development of the building, and the properties of houses above the 8th floor of the building were changed from commercial and residential to later residential. 80% of the residents in the building are labeled as "apartments" on their property certificates. In a notice issued by the Yangpu District Real Estate Registration Center in 2017, it was clarified that "apartments" are "residential properties". But when the nature of the building was adjusted initially, the water, electricity, and coal were not redesigned and constructed in the same way as residential areas, but were instead designed in the same way as commercial and residential buildings, and the developer directly took over the commercial part to solve the problem. Therefore, Chen Yi stated, "Residents have always paid for water, electricity, and coal based on commercial prices."
The diagram shows the gas well of the building, with the main gas pipeline, household gas meters, and some inlet pipelines arranged inside the gas well.
At the beginning, pipeline construction drawings were convenient, and with prolonged use and aging, the hidden danger of leakage gradually became apparent. But Shibei Gas believes that since they are not legitimate users, the responsibility for rectification is no longer with the gas company. However, residents do not see it this way. When they buy a house, they are not aware of these historical legacy issues and should not bear the consequences of private connections. And, residents have been using paid services normally for more than 20 years, "Is it appropriate to just let go of the problem now under the pretext of 'private connection'?"
Anyway, safety hazards cannot be allowed to go unchecked!
How can the hidden danger of gas leakage be eliminated? Shibei Gas believes that it is necessary to first rectify the private connection of sub meters, that is, to transform the current "gas consumption point" into a regular user of gas, and let Shibei Gas take over the gas pipelines and other facilities inside the building. To complete this change, the pipeline must be renovated to meet the gas supply conditions.
As early as 2018, the Yangpu District Construction and Management Committee led a coordination meeting to promote the transformation of water, electricity, and coal from commercial to civilian use in Zhongtong Building. At that time, a document showed that the three parties of water, electricity, and coal had reached a consensus to simplify procedures and intervene in advance. The existing pipelines were surveyed, and the original pipelines were preserved as much as possible while ensuring safety, forming a construction plan. The cost of renovation was negotiated separately. However, in the 2018 coordination meeting, only the allocation of tap water to households was ultimately promoted. The Yangpu District Housing Management Bureau has included Zhongtong Building in the scope of "secondary water supply renovation", and after the pipeline renovation, it will be officially taken over by the water company. Chen Yi said that the reason why the gas renovation was not promoted at that time was because after the on-site investigation of Shibei Gas, it was found that the building environment was relatively closed, and there was a cement platform in the middle of the zigzag shape, which was not connected up and down, like a sealed tank, and did not have the conditions to lay pipelines for using gas from inside the building.
After this year's Spring Festival, due to multiple gas leaks in the building, it is urgent to eliminate hidden dangers. Residents have once again called "12345", calling for the re promotion of the transformation of gas pipeline facilities from commercial to civilian, and the simultaneous elimination of gas leakage hazards. On June 8th, the Yangpu District Construction and Management Committee once again convened a coordination meeting with gas and other enterprises to negotiate with residents. Chen Yi revealed that at this meeting, Shibei Gas provided two renovation plans for pipeline facilities. According to residents, one renovation plan is to connect the cement platform in the middle of the zigzag shape inside the building, forming a ventilation structure from top to bottom, so that gas can be supplied through pipes inside the building; Another renovation plan is to re lay gas pipelines on the outside of the building, and supply gas from the balcony to households. But at the meeting, residents expressed doubts about two options: opening up the platform inside the building would damage the structure, which is obviously not feasible; And changing the pipeline from a balcony to a household means that some residents need to move the kitchen from the existing entrance to the balcony. At present, both parties have not reached an agreement on the renovation plan.
The picture shows the interior of Zhongtong Building, with cement platforms located in the center of the "Hui" shape every few floors. One of the renovation plans proposed by Shibei Gas is to connect the platform and ventilate the building from top to bottom.
During the long wait, some residents lost their patience and took off the yellow warning sign without permission. They opened the valve and continued to use gas. Aunt Liu, a resident on the 25th floor, bluntly stated that she and her husband endured two weeks without gas, and couldn't bear it anymore. She decided to "turn on the valve and continue using it.". In addition, there are still some residents in the building whose gas pipelines have not been tested, posing serious safety hazards.
Residents are calling for safety hazards not to be left unattended, regardless of whether the "commercial to civilian" pipeline renovation can ultimately be implemented. Both government departments and gas companies should take emergency repair measures as soon as possible, first investigate and eliminate the safety hazards caused by gas leaks inside the building, and at the same time ensure the normal gas consumption of building residents.
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