Recommendations made by a pyrotechnics committee appointed by the government in March have been accepted, with the government saying it would start implementing them gradually.
They include reducing by half the amount of potassium chlorate distributed to fireworks manufacturers, an immediate ban on the importation of ammonium perchlorate and the setting up of an empowered unit of experts to conduct inspections at factories where fireworks are manufactured.
A report by the committee which was published yesterday by the government was submitted to the deputy prime minister and Justice and Interior Minister Tonio Borg on 5 December. It has been considered by the cabinet.
The committee was appointed last March to look into the situation and suggest proposals for better security for manufacturers and the public – in one of the worst ever accidents of its kind, a fireworks factory blew up at Gharghur last June, killing five manufacturers and causing damage to property nearby. And a fireworks explosion on board a patrol boat which was dumping illegal fireworks into the sea, killed five members of the armed forces in 1984.
In all 36 people have died as a result of accidents involving fireworks since 1980, according to a parliamentary answer by the Justice Minister. There are 39 licensed fireworks factories in the country.
The government said yesterday the committee has made it clear that its 20 proposals were only preliminary; more would be made as the committee continued to monitor the situation. The proposals made would start being implemented over time, in consultation with the interested parties, through administrative measures or the enactment of subsidiary legislation, the government said.
Other proposals would be implemented over a longer time, after studies about, for instance, how many persons should be manufacturing fireworks simultaneously in the same place.
The committee said in its report that serious incidents involving fireworks, which often proved fatal, could not be completely avoided, because of the nature of the work and the materials and chemicals in use. This was a situation in which no one except those involved in it directly, had any control over its execution.
It implied that some regulations were not being enforced – “as far as possible,” the committee said, “existing regulations about factories’ operation and fireworks displays should be enforced to reduce as far as possible the danger both for those producing the fireworks as well as for other persons and property”.
The committee agreed with the decision already taken by the Justice Minister to disallow open days at fireworks factories.
Suggesting times for fireworks displays, the committee said it recognised that these were part of Malta’s culture and a valuable tourist attraction but the display times should be controlled. No fireworks should be let off in the air after 11.30pm, and fireworks let off from the ground should not be allowed after 1.30am. Whistling crackers (sfafar) may be allowed only with air or ground fireworks (giggifogu) but should never be handheld.
Recommending the setting up of a unit of experts, the committee said the unit would conduct inspections at fireworks factories on a regular basis. It should take the form of an inspectorate and have clear rules on which to operate. Until such a unit was set up, its responsibilities should be assumed by the Armed Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Unit. The unit’s members should include an army representative who is an explosives expert.
The unit should be empowered to recommend the closure for up to 30 days of a fireworks factory which was not in conformity with regulations. If after that period the licensee still did not conform with conditions, the police would insist with the Armed Forces to withhold the provision of potassium chlorate and potassium nitrate.
The committee said AFM records about materials issued should be more detailed in relation to the material, indicating for instance how much potassium chlorate was issued by itself, and how much potassium nitrate by itself.
Education was highly important. Serious training was already being given to those being licensed. Courses should be given by law every year beginning in October. Consideration should also be given to the structure where manufacturing is carried out. In a recent explosion at Zurrieq a man died buried under the collapsed concrete ceiling. Lighter material could have avoided the death.
Potassium chlorate was shown in discussion to be highly dangerous in use, the committee said. Effective from 1 January, 2008, it added, the amount of potassium chlorate issued to fireworks manufacturing organisations should be halved. At present 1,500 kgs of potassium was being released to every factory. This should be reduced to 750 kgs. The decision was reached, the committee said, after considering the number of incidents which had occurred in recent years, which implied that they had been caused by mixtures based on potassium chlorate.
The committee would be encouraging more use of potassium perchlorate, considered to be less sensitive to friction and shock, which caused accidents. And with immediate effect, the committee added, the importation of ammonium perchlorate should be banned because it was not compatible with the use of chlorate. Such a mixture was considered extremely hazardous.
The committee said studies relating to fireworks factories which did not satisfy the 183-metre ‘outside safety distance’ from inhabited buildings and roads used regularly by traffic, should be extended to all fireworks factories. An expert study should be conducted to identify the amount of material which can be kept in storage in a fireworks factory in relation to the outside safety distance of every fireworks factory in the country.