EDITORIAL - Safety standards

With New Year’s Eve less than three months away, the fireworks industry is busy preparing for the annual revelry. The industry is a major employer in Bulacan and several other areas in the country. But while Filipinos continue to greet the New Year with a bang, fireworks consumption has progressively gone down in the past years amid concerns over safety, and as common fireworks displays gain popularity.

Yesterday’s accident in Bocaue, the heart of the country’s fireworks industry, can only add to the safety concerns. As of last night, police had confirmed two fatalities, with over 20 people injured, when a fire spread through a row of fireworks shops in the Bulacan town.

The late morning fire set off a series of explosions so powerful a truck was overturned and quickly caught fire. Three other vehicles were also damaged. One of the fatalities, charred beyond recognition, was found in the razed shops.

Almost every year, a fire or explosion occurs in a fireworks shop or in one of the many backyard enterprises where workers, a number of them still in their teens, make fireworks manually. Video footage and photographs of the workers show them often half-naked, their arms, bodies and faces covered with ash-like substances. Regulation of the mom-and-pop operations has been weak, resulting in poor product quality, and exposing workers to toxic substances that endanger their health.

Clandestine operators also continue to produce louder and more powerful firecrackers such as pla-pla, despite laws specifically banning such products. Smaller items like watusi have also been banned because children have ingested the toxic firework and injuries from handling the product have caused tetanus. Yet watusi continues to surface every Christmas season.

Several fireworks manufacturers have banded together to improve quality control and enforce safety standards set by law. The upgrade is needed if the local industry is to survive competition from the influx of imported products with better quality, and if local players want to sell to the world. Yesterday’s tragedy can only set back such efforts. Accidents happen, but they can be prevented through strict compliance with safety standards.