In 2022, inspectors found a significant defect at a good one in five gas stations in Germany. At 21.1 percent, this is the highest defect rate in the past five years, said the TÜV association. Significant defects are therefore those that could pose a risk until the next inspection – for example, a rusting tank or old electrical cables from safety devices. Gas station operators must correct the defects immediately, but at the latest after one year.
However, technical testing organizations in this country consider accidents such as the explosion at a Russian gas station in mid-August with 35 deaths to be highly unlikely. Tüv expert Hermann Dinkler said: “The gas station technology in Germany is tried and tested, and safety is regularly checked.” Defects were therefore limited, which is why only very few incidents occurred. According to information, experts from the Approved Monitoring Centers (ZÜS), which, in addition to Tüv and Dekra, include Dekra, inspected a total of 3,530 gas stations last year.
Minor defects such as missing device labels occurred in 31.6 percent of cases. 47.3 percent of the gas stations inspected were free of defects. The current figures come from the 2023 plant safety report. This contains the defect statistics of all tests carried out by the ZÜS in 2022. All of the approximately 14,500 gas stations in Germany were completely inspected before they went into operation. After that, full exams take place every six years. However, individual systems such as petrol pumps have their turn every three years. In addition to gas stations, the monitoring centers check, among other things, elevators and pressure vessel systems such as gas storage and steam boilers.