WRITTEN QUESTION E-1569/01 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Assessment of the hazards of fireworks materials in the EU.
Date: 2001-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: environmental risk prevention, evaluation method, explosive, import, international standard, labelling, marketing standard, product safety, storage

C 160 E/2

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

With regard to the second part of the question, the Commission would inform the Honourable Member
that 81 Directives must be transposed between 1 April 2001 and 31 December 2002. This information is
given in an annex which is being sent direct to the Honourable Member and Parliament’s Secretariat.

(1) OJ L 168, 13.6.1998.
(2) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994.
(3) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000.
(4) OJ L 75, 15.3.2001.
(5) OJ L 172, 12.7.2000.
(6) OJ L 158, 17.6.1991.
(7) OJ L 8, 14.1.1998.
(8) OJ L 302, 1.12.2000.

(2002/C 160 E/002)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1569/01

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 May 2001)

Subject: Assessment of the hazards of fireworks materials in the EU

Investigations into the explosion at the Enschede fireworks factory on 13 May 2000 led to the conclusion
that:

: ADR Classes 1,1 to 1,4 were devised for the assessment of hazards which might arise during the
transport of explosive materials and are applicable only to a limited extent to the storage thereof,

: classification of fireworks materials in the various ADR classes is carried out in the country of

manufacture and checks showed that the materials had been wrongly classified,

: accordingly, only a few Member States verify the classification of fireworks materials on import.

1. What possibilities does the Commission see for the tests to assess fireworks materials to be reviewed
at Community, OECD or UN level and, where appropriate, supplemented by a test whereby the materials
would be exposed to fire in an enclosed environment in order to take account of the fact that most
fireworks materials are not only transported in containers but also stored in them?

Given that classification of fireworks materials in the various ADR classes is carried out in the
2.
country of manufacture, with classification in Classes 1,3 and 1,4 being in part obligatory for the
marketing thereof, and given that the extent to which Member States check such classification varies, does
the Commission see any possibility of requiring all the Member States to have the classification of all
materials monitored before import by means of tests carried out by laboratories accredited in the
Community?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(27 July 2001)

Centre (JRC) at Ispra/Italy on 28-29 March 2001, as already mentioned in the answer to the Honourable
Member’s Written Question E-1568/01 (1) experts held the view that the classification system operated
under the United Nations European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods
by Road (UN/ADR) better represents the hazards of certain types of explosives, particularly fireworks, than
the risk phrases currently used in At the Workshop on explosive and pyrotechnic substances (2) held at the
Joint Research Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards
involving dangerous substances hereafter the Seveso II Directive. The tests performed under these risk
phrases are intended to identify a limited range of hazards applicable to raw substances, but these hazards
are not representative of the full range of hazards associated with explosive or pyrotechnic articles in
transport or storage. In contrast, the UN/ADR classification scheme provides a much broader assessment of
hazards associated with explosive substances and articles alike under different conditions.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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It was also noted that current test procedures and criteria used to establish the UN/ADR classifications may
not account adequately for hazards in storage facilities. The UN/ADR protocols themselves acknowledge
that the testing protocols may not cover all possible packaging and transport conditions. Research
performed in the United Kingdom on packaged articles in bulk storage or heavy confinement has
demonstrated that, under these conditions, the hazards may be much more severe than indicated by the
UN/ADR tests, designed solely to address transportation conditions. Therefore, there is concern that testing
procedures under UN/ADR protocols cannot identify with certainty the level of hazard present at fixed
storage installations. Despite this reservation, the experts felt that the UN/ADR classification scheme
effectively identifies the explosive hazard present in most situations. The scheme has the additional
advantage that it is internationally accepted, widely used and regularly updated to reflect new information
and technology. It also provides a strong basis for developing even more precise hazard criteria for
explosives in future. In this respect, an additional test may be necessary to make sure that classification of
explosive hazards accounts for the full range of possible storage situations.

Explosive and pyrotechnic products imported from third countries into the Community are often
incorrectly classified and labelled. All Member States require licensing of manufacturing and storage of
pyrotechnic and explosive substances. Moreover, the national laws of the Member States for the storage of
pyrotechnics and explosives are based on the UN/ADR classification scheme. However, there are big
differences within the Community as to who carries out the classification, ranging from the acceptance of
the classification of imported fireworks, self re-classification by the operator to full third-party classification
systems. Harmonised competence criteria for the bodies that carry out classification (mostly public
authorities) do not exist across the Community.

However, the Commission is concerned to ensure that fireworks placed on the Community market can be
used safely. As the Honourable Member may know, the General Product Safety Directive Council Directive
92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general products safety (3) applies to fireworks, as well as to many other
products. This Directive requires manufacturers to ensure that the products they place on the market meet
acceptable safety standards. It also requires the Member States to monitor products on the market and to
inform other Member States of any problem products, which can be withdrawn from the market if
necessary.

the background of concerns on classificatioon and labelling background,

Nevertheless, against
the
Commission will consider appropriate measures to ensure that the classification and labelling of explosive
and pyrotechnic products, in particular those imported from third countries, is carried out correctly and
therefore reflects the proper hazard potential of the products.

(1) OJ C 364 E, 20.12.2001, p. 148.
(2) OJ L 10, 14.1.1997.
(3) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.

(2002/C 160 E/003)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1601/01

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 June 2001)

Subject: German/French frontier region: noise nuisance caused by fireworks

in France,

Just over the border,
it is only
permissible to set them off on a limited number of designated days per year in accordance with local by-
laws. Due to the fact that in France, unlike Germany, the sale of fireworks is authorised all year round,
German nationals, particularly those living in frontier regions, buy fireworks over the border in France and

it is possible to buy fireworks all year round. However,