The safety watchdog has urged its local departments to train workers involved in the fireworks industry to reduce the risks of accidents.

"As the Chinese New Year draws near, the peak season will come for fireworks selling. Most of the workers in the industry are rural migrants and lack safety knowledge," said the State Administration of Work Safety.

Fireworks plants should finish the training before the end of December and workers responsible for carrying out dangerous procedures should pass an examination, said the administration.

The administration will launch a nationwide inspection on the safety training in December. Plants that do not meet the requirement would be deprived of their production licenses.

China has about 7,000 fireworks plants and 140,000 distributors. About 1.5 million people work in the sector. On the average, the country reported 406 fireworks accidents every year with 445 deaths.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2006)