Some 70,000 citizens have signed a petition calling on the government to ban the sale of firecrackers and their use by individuals, the Declic Community announced on Monday, mentioning that several children have been maimed by firecrackers exploding in their hands, and animals have run away from home, terrorized by the noises.

„Firecrackers not only endanger the lives of people and animals, but also cause massive pollution. Air pollution reaches record levels during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve season. We have to say stop this toxic habit,” Anduta Karetsou, Declic campaigner, was quoted as saying in the press release.

Declic blames the police of a lack of interest, even though the law provides for penalizing those who use firecrackers. Only a ban on the sale of firecrackers to the general public could stop this „alarming” phenomenon, which is „inexplicably” tolerated by Internal Affairs Ministry employees, the Declic Community reports.

„Every year, tragedies happen again. Hands maimed, eyes lost, lives destroyed, all for a few seconds of noise, lights and smoke. Emergency room doctors struggle to save people injured by carelessly used firecrackers. The most vulnerable are often children, who don’t understand the dangers of these ‘toys’,” the petition says.

According to the information provided by the Special Telecommunications Service (STS), on New Year’s Eve, the 112 emergency call center receives more than 20 calls per minute, more than 1,300 of them related to accidents caused by firecrackers, the Declic Community emphasized in the release.

Moreover, hundreds of animals flee or suffer panic attacks because of the noise, and air pollution reaches „record” levels at this time of year, Declic warned, citing the National Environment Protection Agency.

AGERPRES