Production permits for China's firecracker facilities that are
responsible for serious accidents should be revoked, Sun Huashan,
deputy head of State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), said on
Monday.
Workshops each with an annual sales volume of no more than one
million yuan (135,135 U.S. dollars), which are responsible for less
serious accidents, should also have their business licenses
withdrawn, Sun added.
A serious accident at a firework enterprise is one which claims
three to 30 lives, and an ordinary, or less serious, accident,
claims no more than three lives.
In a related development, Sun said a number of firecracker
retail stands should be put under strict control in densely
populated areas. Concentrated marketing should be avoided.
Meanwhile, warehousing and distribution conditions of wholesale
enterprises should be scrutinized.
Those selling firecrackers that are illegally produced and that
contain highly explosive potassium chlorate should be
penalized.
According to Sun, in the 40 days since Oct. 21, China witnessed
12 serious accidents related to firecrackers, claiming 86
lives.
The accidents happened in Hunan, Shanxi, Hebei, Sichuan,
Jiangxi, Anhui and Henan provinces, Chongqing Municipality and
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
SAWS data as of early 2006 showed that there were approximately
7,000 firework production enterprises and 140,000 firecracker
sellers in China, with some 1.5 million employees. The annual
output value for firecrackers stood at some 12 billion yuan and
export value at around 340 million U.S. dollars.
From 1985 to 2005, firecracker workshops nationwide reported
8,532 accidents with 9,349 deaths, or 460 deaths on average
annually.
China accounts for 75 percent or so of world's total annual
firecracker production.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)