No Safe/Legal Way to Dispose Aerial Flares

[RichardS]

I am cleaning out haz mat stuff for local collection, and have 3 expired Orion aerial flares. Punchline: there is no legal, safe way for me to dispose of these in my state. The Sea Tow Foundation published a list of verified locations by state here https://www.boatingsafety.com/page/FlareEducation

36 states have nothing. Most have one place. Our fire department will not take them. County haz waste collection will not take them. West Marine will not take them. Coast Guard Aux will not take them. Because the devices contain perchlorate,  a non-environmentally friendly pollutant described by the EPA as a likely carcinogen and the suspected cause of endocrine and reproductive problems, "Soaking the flares in water as a means of disposal is not a viable solution." (CG Aux).

So, you might want to make a plan! They can last far beyond their expire date, and while it is not illegal to carry expired ones on your vessel, they will not pass CG inspection (some mariners keep them in separate location from current ones, marked with an X, as backup).

Firing aerial flares off can lead to big fines ($5,000 per person in recent case). Handhelds can be ignited without problem, just make sure your neighbors don't call the police or fire!

This is crazy!

[Brian N.]

Right - what to do with expired flares when no agency or department will take them is a big problem. I have a collection in the basement that just keeps growing. I have thought about setting them off on July 4th , but still not appropriate or legal. When my current flares expire I definitely will get an electronic one. One thought that I had was to take them to a high-temperature waste-to-energy facility (which is just down the road) and ask if they will take them. I know the county uses them to dispose of illegal drugs and medical waste. I've never set one off, and frankly, the idea of holding one dripping molten hot slag is not appealing.

[Riggerdood]

Like Brian, I too have contemplated setting one off on the 4th, but I'm not gonna be "That Guy" who starts a brush fire!

My collection is also growing, and of course all of the disposal locations in CA are in the Bay Area. Sure as hell can't ship them up there!

[Quantico Frank]

"An idea" that occurred to me that I'm not advocating necessarily is to launch them during daytime on a low trajectory down an open stretch of deserted seaway such as my area on the Potomac. Just food for thought.

[RichardS]

Frank, a couple of reasons why that would not be a good idea. Launching in daylight on low trajectory is still illegal and subject to fine as a false alarm. Flares are designed to be seen, and will be! Second, low trajectory means flare will likely fall into water, where it will continue to burn (as it is designed to do), leading to more opportunity to be seen, drift ashore and fire up something you don't want to burn. My CG buddy says their tall ship Eagle would go 150 miles offshore and advise all mariners as well as CG stations that it was conducting a training exercise, and then let newbie CG crew fire off a flare or three. But they stopped doing that due to the false alarm problem as well.And they too have a big inventory of expired flares and no solution.

[JimInVA]

I'm down river from Frank, so I'll be keeping my head low! 

[Quantico Frank]

I'm down river from Frank, so I'll be keeping my head low! 

Hahaha, Jim! I promise I'll aim them north... toward DC. 

[Krusen]

If you live in or near a legal fireworks state, launch them on the 4th of July.