NINE ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL FIREWORKS

Police in Haarlem and other cities have arrested at least nine suspects for trading in illegal fireworks. The police announced this on Wednesday. More than 1,750 kg of fireworks was confiscated. Four Haarlem residents – a 36-year old woman and men aged 23, 29 and 42 – were arrested last week after 1,000 kg of illegal fireworks was found in a home on the Amsterdamse Vaart in Haarlem.

To drive away the old year and to bring in the new year, traditionally the Dutch let off an enormous amount of fireworks at New Year’s. Some kinds of fireworks are not allowed to be used by private people, but often these kinds of illegal fireworks are legally sold in Belgium and smuggled into The Netherlands. It is estimated that the Dutch have spent around 90 million on fireworks in 2006.

The letting off of all the fireworks causes serious pollution just after the turn of the year. For a few hours the quality of the air is very bad. Especially in the bigger cities in the West the Dutch fireworks madness causes a lot of smog and fine dust in the first hours of the new years. It depends on the wind how long it takes until the pollution disappears. read more (expatica.com)

CHECKS FOR FIREWORKS DISCONTINUED read more (expatica.com)
NEW YEAR’S EVE NOWHERE THAT EXPLOSIVE read more(voicesfromholland.nl)

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December 5, 2007