CHARLESTON — Safety concerns voiced by cities have removed the fuse from a Senate-passed bill legalizing “energetic fireworks.”

For some years now, efforts have been made to put high-grade fireworks into the hands of individuals and dedicate a portion of fees associated with the sale into struggling volunteer fire departments.

But the measure prompted some safety issues with the West Virginia Municipal League, House Government Organization Chairman Jim Morgan said Tuesday.

“The Municipal League and cities had some concerns as to their ability to control the display of fireworks,” Morgan, D-Cabell, said.

“Of course, the retailers have some concerns in that the folks they represent would not be able to sell the high grade as opposed to low-grade fireworks.”

The idea in the Senate bill was to legalize firecrackers with a maximum of 50 milligrams — about one-sixth of an aspirin’s content — and Roman candles, mines, shells and multi-shot items, or “cakes,” since they resemble round or rectangular birthday cakes.

Rather than deal with the bill in the final days of this session, Morgan said he prefers to see a year-long interims study.

“There were several suggestions put forth as to how to correct it,” he said of the Senate legislation.

“This even uses descriptions from the federal code as to what fireworks are and various things, which is a little more difficult to research.”

That in mind, Morgan said, “We just said, ‘Let’s just look at it very carefully this summer and see what we can come up with.”

Another factor that played into not working the bill in his committee was the uncertainty over where county commissions stand, the chairman said.

Counties might prefer some local option to regulate, or even disallow, the setting off of high-grade works, he said.

“So that’s another issue,” Morgan said. “We thought we’d study it.”

Eighteen states now permit “energetic fireworks,” and recent safety surveys show the numbers of injuries are falling, according to Clifford Rotz, a retired chemical engineer in the Charleston area.

“Fireworks have become extraordinarily safe, if you look at the data trend over the past 30 years or so, since the Consumer Products Safety Commission first mandated standards in 1976,” Rotz said.

Opposition from the Municipal League was “the death knell,” Rotz acknowledged.

Since the 1976 standards were formed, he said, the quality of fireworks has reached a high level, and that quality improves annually.

Although the use of such fireworks has increased tenfold, the CPSC has shown that the latest available stats, for 2008, give the nation its lowest fireworks-related injuries mark in history.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com