New fireworks regulations are being introduced. Changes to the Explosives Ordinance Act, which have just been published, have been based on the findings of a board of inquiry set up in the wake of a spate of tragic fireworks accidents almost four years ago.
The new rules, however, will not come into effect for another four months. Given that we are now entering the village festa season when past fireworks accidents have occurred, this seems an extremely dilatory approach. However, considering that the inquiry report was delivered to the last government, in December 2011 and nothing until now was done about it, we should perhaps be thankful for small mercies.
Malta will shortly have new safety rules which, one hopes, will lead to a tighter safety regime. Although the new regulations fall short of endorsing all the recommendations of the 2010 board – presumably in the face of lobbying by the pyrotechnics enthusiasts – they do include the proposed ban on mixtures combining potassium chlorate and metals, which, it is thought, may have been the cause of some accidents and loss of life. Potassium chlorate may still be used but it cannot be mixed with metals.
Moreover, the quantity of potassium chlorate that may be stored at any single fireworks factory has been reduced. Most importantly, product suppliers must submit written declarations about the purity of the primary material used in the manufacture of fireworks. This falls short of the recommendation of the board for all chemical mixtures to undergo rigorous scientific testing before they can be used and the establishment of a specialised testing centre.
The new rules also stipulate the amount of insurance cover that fireworks factories must now carry. This has been set at €300,000 and must cover third parties and personal damage. Given that in recent factory explosions injuries and deaths sometimes involved anything up to four or more people, this figure must be considered cheap.
As to the training of fireworks enthusiasts, who are essentially no more than gifted amateurs (dilettanti), whereas the old regulations obliged them to attend refresher courses every two years, this has now been extended to five years. In the words of chemistry expert, Alfred Vella, “many lack scientific knowhow when dealing with volatile chemical compositions”. The extension of training requirements from two to five years is either a brave or a very foolish decision. Only time will tell.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom showed that statistically, between 1950 and 1977, the incidence of fireworks factory accidents there was 0.0001 per year. If the same rate were applied here, taking due account of differences in size, Malta would experience one accident every 250 years. Instead, however, between 1980 and 2010, fireworks have led to an average of over two accidents each year. This is a tragic and unacceptable statistical roll-call which any civilised society should seek to reverse.
Given that the experts had predicted that “Malta would experience at least one large-scale fatal fireworks accident [in 2012] or in 2013” unless regulations were urgently amended and certain mixtures banned – a prediction which chillingly came about – it is extraordinary that there has been such a long delay before the passage of the new regulations.
Both political parties have connived at this delay while members of society – not simply fireworks dilettanti – have been placed at risk. Until October, they will remain at risk.