(Adds Ghaqda Piroteknika Maltija's statement)
The time has come to start considering the possibility of a quota on fireworks which would be established according to law and which would indicate the maximum amount of fireworks that could be lit up each year, and during what period.
The details of such a quota would have to be established in a way to safeguard public health, the Church's Environment Commission said.
In a statement, the commission proposed that a technical, scientific and public discussion should start on this proposal for the sake of the many volunteers who worked in the industry, the high level of their work, the attraction and positive effect of the industry on tourism and health.
The Commission said it had been studying the effect of fireworks on health and the environment since 2006 and even the latest documents and investigations showed that the rates of incidents, deaths and injuries in Malta were higher than in other countries in Europe and on the increase.
The incidents were not bound to the quality of the chemicals used but to pressure of work, attention span, experimentation and risk taken with new mixtures.
The commission noted that the real price the country was paying for this national passion was too high, and if one wanted to really control risks, a serious reform was needed in the regulations which controlled this activity.
It was not enough to argue that fireworks industry was important for tourism, feasts and tradition. One also had to have the will to produce fireworks more carefully in a more controlled environment.
Respect for the life of those who worked in the sector had to be shown to avoid tragedies and not when it was too late.
The commission referred to university studies in recent years which consistently showed that the impact of production and the letting off of a high quantity of fireworks from a large number of localities was not negligible.
Although potassium perchlorate being used by factories was more stable and less dangerous, it was still a poison which negatively affected humans, especially pregnant women, young children and others.
The level of perchlorate in dust dropped to 9 ppm in Gozo and 17 ppm in Malta in December from 167 ppm in Gozo and 253 ppm in Malta in August.
This clearly showed that to control the amount of perchlorate used while avoiding the use of the more dangerous chlorate, a maximum level of production had to be established.
Although this might should harsh for all fireworks lovers, the time had come for the Maltese to show their ability in the sector through quality, rather than quantity.
The commission said the quota should be based on a more detailed study on the impact of the several chemicals used, their levels in the environment, and on the possibility of using new, lower risk chemicals.
http://maltadiocese.org/lang/mt/news/fireworkds-health-and-the-environmentil-ka-dwar-il-loghob-tan-nar-is-sahha-u-l-ambjent/
In a statement, the Ghaqda Piroteknika Maltija said it had taken notd of the statement and others made in recent times, as well as the inappropriate time during which such statements were made and reserved the right to answer in future.