Central China province shuts down all firework plants

ZHENGZHOU -- Central China's Henan province has shut down all fireworks plants, ending the production of fireworks in the province, local authorities said Friday.

According to Henan Administration of Work Safety, the province has canceled the production licenses of all fireworks factories and stockpiled all fireworks and firecrackers.

The government has not yet decided how to handle these products. It may give compensation to producers before destroying the fireworks or allow authorized organizations to sell them, the administration said.

The production equipment used in these plants has been registered to prevent it from entering the illegal market.

Fireworks and crackers have topped the list of causes of serious work safety accidents in Henan since 2000.

In 2012, the province banned new firework plants from opening and encouraged the existing ones to close.

Setting off fireworks or firecrackers is a traditional way for Chinese to celebrate major holidays such as Spring Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day.

However, the fireworks industry has witnessed several accidents due to lax safety standards, especially among small producers. It has also been increasingly blamed for contributing to China's air pollution.