HAZARDS - Known Issues
Time Expired Pyrotechnics
4th Feb 2010
The MCA, with the assistance of the Department for Transport, will continue to accept TEPs from the public; however the collection and disposal service will no longer be undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with effect from the 31 March 2010 because of their operational pressures.
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency has awarded a new contract to undertake the collection and disposal of Time Expired Pyrotechnics (TEPs) from its premises. The new contracted service will be phased in from December 2009 with Ramora UK Ltd of Portsmouth. (www.ramorauk.com)
Following recent changes of legislation with regard to the storage and transportation of explosives, MCA premises now require to be brought into line with those changes. This will mean that the number of sites which will be able to accept TEPs will be significantly reduced.
The Agency plan to achieve this by concentrating available resources on 18 sites evenly spaced across the country. Analysis of the quantities of TEPs deposited with the MCA indicate that up to 70% of items find their way to the vicinity of the 18 proposed sites which will accept TEPs.
The following sites have therefore been identified: Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres at
• Shetland
• Stornoway
• Belfast
• Liverpool
• Holyhead
• Milford
• Falmouth
• Brixham
• Solent
• Dover
• Thames
• Humber
• Forth
• Inverness Sector Base
• North Norfolk Sector Base
• Cruden Bay Coastguard Rescue Office
• Girvan Coastguard Rescue Office and
• A location at Poole
Douglas MacDonald, Head of Environment & Emergency Response Standards said:
“These 18 locations, spaced evenly across the country have been chosen because we believe that they will meet the majority of the public demand and are reasonably accessible. Unfortunately not all sites are manned 24 hours, but full details of locations, contact details and opening times will be posted on our web site www.mcga.gov.uk as the new service is rolled out. We are also asking the public not to take TEPS to police stations as they have no storage facilities for these items. “
Notes to Editors
• The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance and economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector. www.seavisionuk.org
• Stay safe - before heading out on the water get trained, check weather and tides, wear a lifejacket, avoid alcohol and keep in touch
• Follow us on Twitter. Find us at MCA_media
An urgent appeal from the Boat Safety Scheme
27th Jan 2010
An urgent appeal has gone out to boaters from the manufacturers of Belling, Flavel, Leisure and New World cookers - act now to avoid the risk of potentially fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. As a result, the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is urging boat owners, including those that rent and hire their craft, to check the brand and model of their cooker as there is a serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from some models. Free modifications by the suppliers' engineers to the cookers are available to prevent the risk of CO if the grill is used accidentally with the door shut. This is a quick and simple operation. The Boat Safety Scheme advises any boat owners with the following appliances to call the free-phone number 0800 342 3049 to have their appliance modified as soon as they can:
• Belling G755 Mk II White
• Belling G755 Mk II Anthracite
• Belling GT755 White
• Belling Countrychef 100G Silver
• Belling Countrychef 100G Anthracite
• New World Vision 50TWLM Silver LPG
• New World Vision 50TWLM White LPG
• New World Vision 50WLM Silver LPG
• New World Vision 50WLM White LPG
• Leisure AL6NDW
• Leisure CM10NRK
• Leisure CM10NRC
• Leisure CM101NRCP
• Leisure CM101NRKP
• Flavel DCGAP5LS
• Flavel AP5LDWP
• Flavel AP5LDW
• Flavel AP5LDSP
• Flavel Milano ML5NDS
The BSS is also alerting anyone with a battery powered carbon monoxide alarm supplied by Lloytron (model B822) or PowerPlus (model BWK034C/Ref 6167) that some units are being recalled. Recent tests have shown that some batches may not detect (and hence may not sound an alarm) in the presence of certain concentrations of carbon monoxide. The advice is to remove the unit and return it to the place where you bought it for a refund or further advice. The alarms are approximately 11cm in diameter. The Lloytron item is in blue packaging and the PowerPlus item is sold with blue and yellow packaging. The BSS believes carbon monoxide alarms made to the international standard EN 50291 and installed according to the manufacturer's guidelines can give boaters reassurance, but they should be used alongside a policy of maintaining and using gas, coal, wood and oil-burning appliances according to instructions. There is further information on carbon monoxide in the BSS leaflet, 'Avoiding the Silent Threat', available from the BSS Office (01923 201278) and on the BSS website: www.boatsafetyscheme.com.
