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To ensure that customers can use city gas with a sense of security, city gas utilities have put in place a comprehensive, 24-hour safety system that monitors all parts of the supply chain, from the city gas plant to the home.
¡¡Specific measures include proposing that our customers use the latest safety equipment and features, not only for intelligent gas meters but also for gas pipes, gas valves, and gas appliances¡İthereby promoting their use.
¡¡In addition, anti-seismic measures, including highly earthquake-proof gas facilities and supply disruption systems, are being actively introduced. |
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| To increase safety in using city gas |
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Gas equipment safety system |
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Gas equipment safety system |
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| Emergency vehicle on standby |
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Facility Measures
¡¡The utilities are promoting the active installation of the earthquake-proof
polyethylene (PE) pipelines that survived the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The
total length of these PE pipelines has increased approximately almost 2.5 times
over the past decade.
¡¡Gas utilities are also working to promote intelligent gas meters which shut off gas supply automatically as soon as they sense an earthquake registering approximately a strong 5 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7. |
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Total Nationwide Length of Low-pressure Main and Branch PE Gas Pipelines |
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Emergency Measures
¡¡In order to prevent secondary disasters when a huge earthquake occurs, gas supplies can be stopped depending on the situation in each of the blocks which comprise the supply area. Seismographs have been installed in every block and are used as benchmarks for shutting off gas supplies.
¡¡An intelligent gas meter that is installed in each house also shuts off the gas supply automatically, and some gas equipment models are provided with a quake-sensing shut-off device. |
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Recovery Measures
¡¡A system* is in place in which customers are provided with assistance through the unified efforts of the gas industry when gas supplies have to be cut off in the event of a large-scale disaster.
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| Number of houses targeted for recovery and number of relief workers from city gas utilities |
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* Overview of The Japan Gas Association¡Çs Relief System in the Event of Earthquakes or Other Emergencies
¢£ Dispatch of an Advance Team
The Japan Gas Association will organize an advance team of relief workers consisting of members from the administrative gas utilities belonging to the relevant local subcommittee, nearby gas utilities, major gas utilities and the Japan Gas Association, and dispatch the team to the affected area should any afflicted gas utilities shut off its gas supply.
¢£ Relief System
If any afflicted utilities makes a relief request to the chairperson of the relevant local subcommittee, the chairperson will determine a relief system by taking into consideration opinions and the like offered by the advance team with regard to relief systems and consulting with the Japan Gas Association.
¢£ Burden of Relief Expenses
If relief activities are implemented, the gas utilities which provides the relief will bear the personnel costs of its employees (including any extra remuneration), among the expenses incurred by the utilities, and the afflicted gas utilities will bear the rest of the expenses (including accommodation costs, materials costs, and the personnel costs of gas fitting companies).
¢£ Payment of Relief Funds
Gas utilities have collaboratively established the Japan Gas Association Disaster Relief Fund after the Kushiro-Oki Earthquake (1993) in order to relieve the burden of afflicted gas utilities and decided to pay relief funds according to given rules. |
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