On New Year's Eve, Dutch citizens are divided into three camps: those who celebrate the start of the new year with fireworks, those who enjoy the spectacle from afar, and those who endure the noise it creates. Its use is one of the most widespread leisure activities in the Netherlands at this time – in 2022, pyrotechnics worth 110 million euros were sold to private individuals. In 2019, before the pandemic crisis, sales were 77 million euros. From a commercial perspective, the campaign is a success for dealers and importers. The crux lies in the mass consumption and illegal sale of devices that exceed the gunpowder content prescribed for these activities and whose handling can be very dangerous. Every year there are accidents between children and adults, sometimes causing irreversible eye injuries and even mutilation due to explosions in the face and hands.
The debate is not only limited to the holiday season, but the environmental pollution, noise and property damage caused by fireworks – in addition to accidents – are once again a concern for the Dutch Congress. The environmentalist party Green Left (GroenLinks) and the Party for the Animals have proposed a general ban, but there is no majority for an agreement. In any case, more than 30 municipalities large and small are in favor of abolition: from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Delft, Arnhem and Haarlem. The list of opponents appears in a survey conducted in December this year by the Dutch News Agency (ANP), to which 150 of the 342 national municipalities responded. Police unions also favor a nationwide ban “because officers, firefighters and rescue workers face risky situations.” [les lanzan petardos que pueden causar quemaduras y problemas de oído] “In the midst of a fragmented political situation like the current one,” said a joint statement released this month. In 2022, there were “14,806 incidents and 771 arrests, and the government must ensure that police and emergency services operate as safely as possible,” they write in the statement.
A trail of fires
At the end of 2022, twelve municipalities have banned fireworks, and the Dutch Insurance Association estimated the damage caused by the widespread use of fireworks between New Year's Eve and January 1st at around 10 million euros. Although his estimate included private homes, burned cars and motorcycles, it did not take into account the extent of some fires at a church, a poultry farm and several schools. Without forgetting the medical costs incurred by caring for the injured: 400 for emergency services and more than 850 for general practitioner consultations. Most had burns and eye injuries, and Veiligheid NL (Dutch Security Service) estimated the direct cost of the treatments and the resulting loss of work at 3.9 million euros. According to this center, which is responsible for collecting accident data for prevention, a fifth of the victims were under 12 years old. Half of them had manipulated the devices themselves without their parents noticing.
The Human Environment and Transport Regulatory Authority recently seized 18,000 kilos of illegal devices from a local importer. These were models of sparklers, Roman candles and fireworks, which have been banned in the Netherlands since 2020. In North Brabant, in the south of the country, 1,700 kilos more were found. This year the fireworks can be set off between six o'clock in the afternoon on December 31st and two o'clock in the morning on January 1st, 2024. Hopefully we can celebrate the party in peace.
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