Blast tied to lack of regulations

The fatal explosion in Waikele in 2011 is cited in a U.S. report on fireworks disposal

By Gordon Y.K. Pang

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 17, 2013

~~<p>The explosion at a Waikele storage facility that killed five people in 2011, along with a fireworks-related Fourth of July fatality in Kansas, shows a clear "regulatory gap" when it comes to the disposal of fireworks in the United States, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said in a report expected to be released this morning in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>The board is recommending that several agencies establish rules and policies that might help prevent future fireworks-related tragedies. The five men killed in the Waikele explosion were employees of Donaldson Enterprises, a company subcontracted by Virginia-based VSE Corp., which had a federal contract to dispose of confiscated illegal fireworks in Hawaii and elsewhere.</p>
~~

The explosion at a Waikele storage facility that killed five people in 2011, along with a fireworks-related Fourth of July fatality in Kansas, shows a clear "regulatory gap" when it comes to the disposal of fireworks in the United States, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said in a report expected to be released this morning in Washington, D.C.

The board is recommending that several agencies establish rules and policies that might help prevent future fireworks-related tragedies. The five men killed in the Waikele explosion were employees of Donaldson Enterprises, a company subcontracted by Virginia-based VSE Corp., which had a federal contract to dispose of confiscated illegal fireworks in Hawaii and elsewhere. Login for more...