Environment Minister, Mahama Ayariga says Oil Marketing Companies are partly to blame for the failure of filling stations to ensure safety standards.

He says the companies do not take adequate steps to ensure that retailers operating in their name follow the due process of the law.

His comment follows the closure of four fuel stations as the authorities move to forestall a repeat of the deadly fire outbreak at a Goil Filling Station in Accra last week.

The Environmental Protection Agency is leading the clampdown on fuel stations that are operating below safety standards.

Hannah Odame was with the team and reports six fuels stations have been affected in day two of the exercise.

A caretaker of one of the fuel stations at Darkuman found it difficult to produce an operating permit.

The station, located under a high tension pole, had also constructed a pipe which directs rain water from its premises into homes.

The EPA could not accept all of these and posted closure notices on their pump.

At the Total Filling station at Mallam, there were prolonged exchanges between the manager and the EPA officials as the manager tried to prove that he had the requisite documentation.

The last filling station the team visited had permit to lift oil but not to sell. This was clearly against the law and so the EPA ordered them to shut down.

At the end of today’s operation, Environment Minister, Mahama Ayariga expressed dismay at the operation of some oil marketing companies. 

He said the international companies who have a reputation to protect must be concerned about how their retailers operate.

"They should not allow retailers to operate without the necessary permits," he said  

The taskforce will continue its work in the nation’s capital and then move to the regions. Operators with no permits and those who have exceeded their permit extensions have been warned to shape up or shut down.