A company based in Swynnerton has been told to pay out over £7,000 for importing fireworks from China that contained a harmful chemical.
Echo 2 Limited – which deals with large-scale purchase of fireworks and supplies other smaller retailers for sale – is the first company in England and Wales to be prosecuted for importing fireworks containing hexachlorobenzene (HCB).
The company was fined £2,600 and ordered to pay costs of £4,568 at Stafford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 9th February following a prosecution by the Environment Agency.
The company pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one charge of importing fireworks containing HCB contrary to Regulation 5 of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulations 2007.
In August 2009, they imported 4,800 fireworks containing 8.25kg of HCB into the UK. HCB was found in two types of firework – Devil’s Wrath and Devil’s Desire.
The fireworks were destroyed in July 2010. There is no evidence to suggest that these fireworks were ever passed on to retailers for onward sale.
Speaking after the case an Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation said: “This is the first company to be prosecuted for importing fireworks containing HCB. This chemical can harm the environment if fireworks containing it do not burn completely or if they burn at a low temperature.
“It is fortunate that, in this case, the fireworks were not passed on to the public. We take cases like this very seriously and we will not hesitate to prosecute where we feel it is warranted.”
In mitigation, the director of Echo 2 Limited said that he thought that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) checked all consignments of fireworks that arrived in the UK. He realises they are responsible and has now employed someone to check all the fireworks.
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