Public sector oil companies should revise the Bureau of Indian Standards for diesel, including increasing the ‘flash point'– the lowest temperature at which the vapour of a combustible liquid can be made to ignite momentarily in air – of the diesel fuel.

The Centre for Consumer Education, Research, Teaching, Training and Testing, a public charitable trust, attributed the low ‘flash point' as the reason for the recent omnibus road accident in Vellore in which 21 people were charred to death, according to Mr R. Desikan, Trustee of the centre.

Though various theories are circulating for the cause of the accident, the quality of diesel played an important role in the accident, he told newspersons.

An accident could happen because of repeated use of an adulterated fuel or human error. However, the vehicle catching fire, as happened in the Vellore incident, could well be attributed to the low ‘flash point' of the diesel use, he said.

According to BIS, IS 1460 – 2005, the required specification for the ‘flash point' of automobile diesel is 35 degree (minimum). Though it was kept at 55 degree 40 years ago, it was amended many times and brought down to 35, he said.

The Automobile Research Association of India, Pune, had conducted studies to establish that the low ‘flash point' of the fuel increases the risk of fire many times compared to the high ‘flash point.' A low ‘flash point' diesel results in formation of an inflammable fuel – air mixture in the diesel tank, which may cause explosion and swift propagation of flame, he said.

Only India has such a low ‘flash point' of 35 degrees while in many countries, including Japan, China, and Hong Kong, it is more 50-60, said Mr Desikan.

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