Suggestions floated by Labour leader Joseph Muscat to improve safety at fireworks’ factories were deemed unfeasible in the past but would be re-evaluated, according to the Home Affairs Minister.
Carm Mifsud Bonnici said the suggestions by Dr Muscat in The Sunday Times, last Sunday would be considered.
“Most had already been taken into consideration earlier but were not fully implemented because it was deemed they would not yield the desired benefit. They will be re-evaluated just the same,” Dr Mifsud Bonnici said when asked about the proposals.
He was reticent on committing himself to any regulatory changes in the fireworks sector for the time being, insisting the government would wait for the conclusion of the work of the board of inquiry. This was appointed last week in the wake of the Għarb fireworks factory explosion that killed six people and razed the building to the ground.
This was the second deadly incident in a month. In August, a fireworks factory in Dwejra exploded, killing a man.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the final report of the inquiry would be public.
When asked about a bipartisan approach to tightening regulations on fireworks manufacturing, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said his ministry had ongoing discussions over the past months with the opposition’s representative, Michael Falzon.
“Several of the strict regulatory measures introduced over the past two years, which were acknowledged by the Leader of the Opposition in his opinion piece, were the fruit of these discussions,” the minister said.
Dr Muscat, whose father is a major importer of explosives and chemicals used in the industry, listed a number of proposals. These included an obligation to have certificates of conformity issued on all chemicals used in the industry and the introduction of a “black box” system where manufacturers would log activities at their plant one day in advance.
The board of inquiry is tasked to review the safety of fireworks’ factories and will also collect and examine samples of materials used in the manufacture of fireworks. It will examine documents related to the materials used for manufacturing fireworks and assess the practices followed when mixing materials.
The proposals
• An obligation on suppliers to submit certificates of suitability and analysis for all chemicals – not only explosives and oxidisers – used in fireworks production.
• An obligation on plant licence holders to log in, one day in advance, planned activities and materials to be handled on the following day. The log would be held at a separate location and be available for inspection.
• Discuss the introduction of CCTV cameras in strategic areas of fireworks manufacturing plants, keeping in mind the dangers posed by electronic circuits.
• Introduce one licence in-stead of the current A and B variants, equivalent to to-day’s Licence A for all those involved in fireworks prod-uction. The current Licence A is for manufacturing and supervision while Licence B is for assistance.
• The blast wall system introduced in the 1980s has to be re-examined.
• Introduce safety ditches.
• Study the impact of increasing UV rays and tolerance of mobile phone use.