Every year, accidents occur during the July 14 and August 15 French holiday festivities. In 2015 unfortunately, reports came in of 11 injured in Monteux, 15 injured in Canet and 5 more in Castelsarrasin during fireworks shows that went awry.[...]
In the pyrotechnics sector, 12% of accidents are related to inappropriate human intervention: mainly non-compliance with procedures (since the creation of the ARIA database, 132 accidents are in this case out of a total of 1076). Based on real examples,[...]
This document presents the conclusions of an analysis conducted on 322 accidents (104 in France, 218 in other countries) extracted from the ARIA database. For each stage of the fireworks process (manufacturing, storage, use, transport and disposal) major causes and[...]
A pneumatic explosion occurred at about 4 p.m. in a pyrotechnic factory specialising in the manufacture of nitrocellulose-based hunting and sport shooting gunpowder. The event took place when an intake pipe was being sawn (vertical, 80 mm diameter stainless steel tube) in[...]
The destruction of pyrotechnic waste remains a hazardous activity; in France, this activity alone accounts for 15% of all accidents arising within the pyrotechnics industry, as catalogued in the ARIA database. Waste treatment steps are carried out on materials that[...]
As an expression of festivities, fireworks must however not be perceived as inoffensive or devoid of risks. Fired for hundreds of years, some fireworks today can be directly used by the general public, which has given rise to the need[...]
Two serious accidents that recently occurred in France along with others from the more distant past recall the risks associated with handling fireworks in small warehouses or shops, as well as the need to respect pertinent basic workplace rules.
Several recent accidents in France (along with others dating further back) have recalled that the handling of fireworks in small warehouses, depots, during the preparation or execution of fireworks shows, carry risks that must be prevented at least through regulatory[...]
In a company dedicated to producing hunting ammunition, fire broke out on a pyrotechnic waste burning zone, on a day when the production facility was closed for annual holidays. A single entrance provided access to this excavated (50 x 30[...]
At a pyrotechnics plant, 5.6 kg of an HMX/Viton mix detonated around 9:25 am during compression, causing the deflagration of 14 kg of powder explosive held in a barrel. Detonation occurred upon reaching maximum compressive force in a high-capacity isostatic[...]
