With videoA large part of the legal fireworks that have recently been tested by the inspectorate turn out not to be safe. Shortly before the turn of the year, 20 percent of the tested fireworks were rejected and their sale was prohibited. For example, it concerns fireworks that explode too quickly or too slowly. Or cardboard particles that continue to burn after a bang.
Tom van der Meer
Latest update:
27-12-22, 14:48
Every year, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) still encounters many fireworks that turn out to be unsuitable for sale. In 2019, the last time before the fireworks ban, it was 18 percent. However, it is already a lot less than the 28 percent that were rejected in 2018.
The inspectorate still calls it ‘worrying’ that one in five types of fireworks that have been tested must be destroyed. For the record: it does not mean that one in five products in the fireworks store is dangerous. Special attention has been paid to high-risk fireworks. To be precise, the so-called batteries of single-shot tubes, compounds (multi-shot cakes) and combinations of multiple firecrackers in one box.
In many cases, a firecracker was still burning the moment it landed on the ground, or failed to go off within 3 to 8 seconds after the fuse was lit. There is a risk that someone will think that the fireworks are not going off and will walk back to them. The fireworks that have been rejected have been withdrawn from the market and may no longer be sold.
In addition, 13.5 percent of the tested fireworks are of poor quality. This can be adjusted with, for example, a different label and can then still be sold.
Manual work
The fireworks industry emphasizes that the inspectorate checks specific fireworks that already involve extra risk. According to spokesman Leo Groeneveld of the Interest Association for Pyrotechnics in the Netherlands (BPN), it is not possible to get all the fireworks according to the ‘strict’ Dutch standards. It is mostly a handmade product. If there’s a kink in a fuse, it could just go off at 9 or 10 seconds. That is difficult to prevent, although attention is paid to it.”
Nevertheless, the industry also believes that too many fireworks should be removed from the shelves. “Our target is 10 percent. Then you have the maximum,” says Groeneveld. The costs of destroying the rejected fireworks are for the seller, which entails a considerable cost item. “Every once in a while something can be repaired. But those are exceptions. There are also occasional sales abroad. But ninety percent of everything that is rejected must be destroyed.”
Next year
The ILT is in talks with the industry to make even better agreements about the import of fireworks. “The manufacturers and importers are responsible for ensuring that it is safe,” says a spokesman. “We have discussions throughout the year to see how this can be improved.”
There may soon be an improvement in the quality of the fireworks. A large part of the firecrackers that are now being sold have been in the bunkers for two years due to the fireworks ban. Sellers do not expect to purchase new fireworks in large numbers until next year, in accordance with the new agreements.
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