CPSC Files Suits Against Five Fireworks Importers

WASHINGTON, DC. -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety commission has announced the filing of five lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions against importers of hazardous fireworks. on behalf of the Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking federal district courts to order the firms to test the fireworks they import for safety. The firms, their locations, and the judicial districts are: B.J. Alan Company, Inc., Youngstown, Ohio, Northern District of Ohio; Winco Fireworks Inc., Lenexa, Kansas, District of Kansas; L.W. Loyd Company, Inc., South Pittsburg, Tennessee, Eastern District of Tennessee; Stonebraker Rocky Mountain Fireworks Co., Denver, Colorado, District of Colorado; and South Carolina Distributors, Inc., Cherokee Falls, South Carolina, District of South Carolina.

The Commission alleges that the firms have all imported fireworks intended for use by consumers (sometimes referred to as "class C" fireworks) that were banned or misbranded because they failed to comply with federal safety requirements.

After being notified by the Commission of numerous violations, the five firms continued to import such violative fireworks as firecrackers, fountains, and aerial devices. The violations have ranged from excessive pyrotechnic powder and improper fuse attachment to instability and inadequate warning iabels.

Most of the violations which support the lawsuits were discovered during an import surveillance program jointly operated by the Commission and the U.S. Customs Service. Since the program began in 1988 approximately 375 million units of illegal fireworks, valued at approximately $25 million, have been stopped at the docks before they could be sold to American consumers.

Over 10,000 injuries associated with all types of fireworks were treated in hospital emergency rooms during 1988, based on Commission estimates. Half of these injuries were to children under 15 years of age. Approximately 90% of the fireworks used annually in the United States are imported.