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In the life cycle of explosives and pyrotechnics, disposal operations are not to be forgotten. This is most critical when one needs to get rid of large amounts of materials or articles due to overrun of shelf life. It can be the case when non-conform products are generated without possibilities of reprocessing or more frequently in situation of decommissioning unused explosives which will be considered as wastes. Due to the nature of these wastes thorough regulations as well as various technical processes have been developed for their control and elimination with high safety considerations. In this frame, the disposal operations are not only limited to the destruction itself but could usually cover other operations like transportation, collection, sorting, neutralization or residues and effluents treatment. In this work, we illustrate some operations and give examples of different techniques for the disposal of mining or military explosives, fireworks, pyrotechnic articles for vehicles or for marine distress signals. Several practices in place are also described and their advantages and drawbacks are commented.

In the life cycle of explosives and pyrotechnics, disposal operations are not to be forgotten. This is most critical when one needs to get rid of large amounts of materials or articles due to overrun of shelf life. It can be the case when non-conform products are generated without possibilities of reprocessing or more frequently in situation of decommissioning unused explosives which will be considered as wastes. Due to the nature of these wastes thorough regulations as well as various technical processes have been developed for their control and elimination with high safety considerations. In this frame, the disposal operations are not only limited to the destruction itself but could usually cover other operations like transportation, collection, sorting, neutralization or residues and effluents treatment. In this work, we illustrate some operations and give examples of different techniques for the disposal of mining or military explosives, fireworks, pyrotechnic articles for vehicles or for marine distress signals. Several practices in place are also described and their advantages and drawbacks are commented.

International audience ; On May 23, 2007 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Directive 2007/23/EC [1] on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles. Following the "new approach" this Directive aims at ensuring the f ree movement of such products within the European Union (EU), improving safety of both consumers and professionals and implementing harmonized safety requirements for these articles in all Member States. Therefore a European frame for the approval of pyrotechnic articles for vehicles is now set up by introducing harmonized Essential Safety Requirements (ESR), CE marking and certification procedures. For manufacturers and importers that had to comply with a different regulation in each country to get technical approvals of their products the principle "tested once, accepted everywhere" is a great achievement. Although this EU directive will reduce the administrative burden for everybody, its substitution and application instead of the current national regulations may create difficulties at the beginning. As Notified Body and Official Laboratory in France INERIS has gained lot of experience in testing, certifying and approving explosives and pyrotechnic articles. In this paper we give an insight of the different parts of the Directive 2007/23/EC and present the frame of the CE marking and certification procedures for pyrotechnic articles for vehicles.

International audience ; On May 23, 2007 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Directive 2007/23/EC [1] on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles. Following the "new approach" this Directive aims at ensuring the f ree movement of such products within the European Union (EU), improving safety of both consumers and professionals and implementing harmonized safety requirements for these articles in all Member States. Therefore a European frame for the approval of pyrotechnic articles for vehicles is now set up by introducing harmonized Essential Safety Requirements (ESR), CE marking and certification procedures. For manufacturers and importers that had to comply with a different regulation in each country to get technical approvals of their products the principle "tested once, accepted everywhere" is a great achievement. Although this EU directive will reduce the administrative burden for everybody, its substitution and application instead of the current national regulations may create difficulties at the beginning. As Notified Body and Official Laboratory in France INERIS has gained lot of experience in testing, certifying and approving explosives and pyrotechnic articles. In this paper we give an insight of the different parts of the Directive 2007/23/EC and present the frame of the CE marking and certification procedures for pyrotechnic articles for vehicles.