A turning point for fireworks

The current spate of letters and comments in the press asking for the complete ban of fireworks from the Maltese islands is quite comprehensible, especially following the recent spate of accidents in both legal and illegal fireworks factories. What people fail to realise is what the problem underlying all these accidents is.

In Malta, contrary to what has happened in many countries around the world, we still make widespread use of chlorates in the forms of barium chlorate and potassium chlorate as the key oxidising agent in the manufacture of fireworks, be it in legal or illegal premises. In many countries all over the world these have been replaced by either perchlorates and/or nitrate equivalents, which are far more stable and if correctly employed still yield the wonderful coloured effects which we are used to enjoying throughout the summer. Adding insult to injury, it is still widespread practice to employ sulphur in compositions containing chlorates, making them further unstable and unpredictable, although it must be said that this practice is banned by the regulations currently in effect.

The authorities should immediately start to put into effect measures to restrict the use of chlorates and instead encourage the use of perchlorates, for example through subsidisation of the raw chemical. As with all changes in life, this change will require some adaptation by all involved. Key to this next step is the contribution by the Maltese Pyrotechnic Society which should immediately start to seek a consensus among all its members on this issue and with the help of the authorities start obligatory retraining programmes for the correct employment of perchlorates in this beautiful art.

Definitely another point to be addressed is the much-needed financial help for legal factories in order to modernise resources and infrastructure with the final aim of improving safety. Such help is badly needed especially in respect of the fact that no Administration has ever shown a minimum of financial concern for these voluntarily-run factories. It is to say the least laughable to hear comments such as "How can the church pay for such things?", or "Why don't we build a specialised animal hospital instead of paying for smoke?" Not that I hate animals. But people fail to realise all the work and sacrifice that it takes to run a legal factory in a safe way and raise the necessary funds to set up a yearly display, especially with the skyrocketing prices of most chemicals used nowadays. While there are a few individuals who run a factory on a commercial basis most of our factories are still run by volunteers, with great financial and personal sacrifice, for the enjoyment of others and our much-awaited summer visitors.

While condemning without any reservations what has been happening in Naxxar, as an admirer of this art I feel that we are now at a turning point. Failure to grasp this opportunity and embrace this much-needed change will only cause more accidents and more fatalities among our so-called dilettanti (quite a few are much more than that) and will lead an essential part of our Mediterranean culture towards a premature end.