From a drone view the image is impressive.
Thousands of gas tanks of all colors stacked next to each other, forming a dense blanket on the land that was once occupied by a Pemex refinery in Azcapotzalco, in Mexico City.
Almost everyone is standing;
others fallen on the ground.
They are yellow, blue, green and white.
But, beyond the photos, little is known about that cemetery of LP gas cylinders that has been growing every day, since last December, without the local residents having managed to stop it.
The smell is so strong that some have to leave the house at night in the neighborhoods of Huichapan, San Diego Ocoyoacac and Torre Blanca, which surround the old March 18 refinery.
For now, no authority has reported how long they will be there.
The cylinders are being stored by Gas Bienestar, the state company created by the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to enter the lucrative business of liquefied petroleum gas.
Since its inception, the company has been supplying thousands of families with new tanks bearing its logo and taking away the old ones.
For Susana Cazorla, who was head of the LP gas unit of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), this is worrying because it is happening without the authority having created a program for the replacement of cylinders.
"All this should be written and there should be clear rules," says the expert.
“But there is nothing here.
We do not know if they are withdrawing the tanks that are really out of life or if they are taking them out of circulation to the competing companies”.
The argument put forward by the state company is that these cylinders are in poor condition.
The director of Gas Bienestar, Gustavo Álvarez Velázquez, has said that at least half were unusable.
"Obviously they will always tell you that it is for security, but we cannot confirm it because there is no regulation and it has not been decreed that the old refinery function as a place of destruction or maintenance," criticizes Cazorla.
When he announced the creation of Gas Bienestar last July, the president assured that he was seeking to end the shortage of competitors in the market and stop the increase in fuel prices.
A month later, the energy regulator approved the imposition of maximum prices for the sale of LP gas.
However, the CRE has been forced to raise these ceilings in the face of the incessant global rise in prices.
Aerial view of the tanks stored in the old refinery. CLAUDIO CRUZ (AFP)
The lack of an official program for changing the tanks makes it difficult to determine the potential danger that this growing graveyard in Azcapotzalco could pose.
For example, it is not known whether they are all empty or some still contain fuel.
What is clear is that the neighbors can perceive a strong odor in their houses.
On April 1, residents of the area demonstrated at the gates of the old refinery accompanied by local deputies from the National Action Party (PAN).
Councilman Alberto Burgoa said then that the cylinder store “could cause health risks and an imminent risk, because hydrocarbons are also stored in this place.”
The head of Gas Bienestar had promised to set a date to withdraw them, but months passed without this happening.
This newspaper requested an interview with Gas Bienestar, but so far it has not been attended.
Given the controversy generated, the mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, said that Civil Protection went to the scene and "did not observe any risk issues."
LP gas is made up of butane and propane, which are odorless.
For this reason, mercaptan is added, with a strong odor that allows detecting if there is a leak.
In an informative statement on this type of gas, the Ministry of Energy warns that, in case of leaks, "it forms explosive atmospheres" and, "when it is burned incompletely, it produces carbon monoxide, which is toxic and suffocating.
It is extremely flammable and can cause burns and even death by suffocation by displacing oxygen from the air.”
Given these warnings, it is not surprising that neighbors are concerned about the odors they perceive in their homes.
Speaking to a local television, an inhabitant of the area explained that at night the smell is even stronger.
"It does not let us sleep peacefully, we are anxious that one day we will not wake up."
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