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Explosives Industry Newsletters

ATF periodically publishes newsletters for the explosives industry and federal explosives licensee (FEL) community. Subscribe to our ATF ePubs email list to receive new newsletters as they're published.

Title and Description
June 1997 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 473.1 KB]

What's In This Issue: Computerized Recordkeeping Systems; Letters to the Editor; Items of Interest; Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; National Repository of Arson and Explosive Incidents; ATF and the Internet; Explosives Security; Airbags; Theatrical Flash Powder

Published/Revised: June 30, 1997

June 2001 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 705.6 KB]

What's In This Issue: A Message from the Chief, Arson & Explosives Programs; International Explosives Assistance; Philadelphia Field Division Bombing Incidents; Black Powder Sales; Barricades; Safety, Storage, and Illegal Devices; Special Events Fireworks Variances; First Quarter 2001 Explosives Thefts; Address and Phone Number Corrections

Published/Revised: June 30, 2001

June 2004 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 610.99 KB]

What's In This Issue: A Message from the Chief, Arson & Explosives Programs Division; New Director, Deputy Director of ATF Announced; Lewis P. Raden Named Assistant Director; Changes in the Arson and Explosives Programs Division; Volatile Organic Compounds; Day Boxes; Manufacture of Binary Explosives; Indoor Storage Magazine Locking Requirements; ATF Attends Conferences; Thefts and Loss Reporting Requirements; New Annual List of Explosives Published; Theft of Explosives as Reported to ATF

Published/Revised: June 30, 2004

June 2005 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 725.99 KB]

What's In This Issue: Changes in the Arson and Explosives Programs Division; Director's Speech at the ISEE National Conference; New Federal Explosives Licensing Center; Reporting Changes in Responsible Persons and Employees Authorized to Possess Explosive Materials; Reporting Procedures for Explosives Transactions; Storage of More Than 300,000 Pounds of Explosives; ATF Inspections

Published/Revised: June 30, 2005

June 2009 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.62 MB]

What's In This Issue: New Chief of Explosives Industry Programs; New Web Pages; Fireworks Safety and Storage; Illegal Explosives; Fireworks Recordkeeping Variance; Updated Fireworks Q & As; Simplified License and Permit Structure; Change of Control; Scanned or E-Mailed Licenses; Igniter Storage with Rocket Motors in Attached Garages; Locking Issues; Bullet Resistance for Type-2 Indoor Storage; Detonator Boxes; Explosives Thefts

Published/Revised: June 30, 2009

June 2010 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.68 MB]

What's In This Issue: Changes in Headquarters Personnel; Change of Ownership versus Change of Control; Storage of Shock Tube with Detonators; ATF Ruling—Placement and Visibility of Containers in Magazines; Inspecting Magazines; Type-5 Locking Requirements; Rubberized Lining in Type-3 and Type-4 Magazines; Reviewing Variances; Fireworks and Fires in the United States; Theft Discovery and Reporting; Orange Book Errata

Published/Revised: June 30, 2010

June 2011 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 2.16 MB]

What's In This Issue: New Web Pages and Publication; Display Fireworks Materials Exemption for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes; Fireworks and Black Powder; ATF Ruling 2011-2 Storage in Type 5 Bins and Silos; Mortise Locks and Cylindrical Dead Bolt Locks; Recordkeeping Exception at 27 CFR 555.123(d); Pressure Gas Systems; Indoor Magazines Stored Inside Containers and Trailers; Educational Institution Exemptions and Students; Prohibited Person Reminder; A Reminder about Special Explosive Device Exemptions; Acting Director Expresses ATF Gratitude; Explosives Thefts from 2006-2010

Published/Revised: June 30, 2011

June 2012 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.4 MB]

What's In This Issue: ATF Celebrates 40 Years of Public Service; New Publications; ATF Ruling 2012-2, Uncovered Firework Bins; Storage of EPCDs Aboard Fishing Vessels; ATF Regulation of 1.4 Materials; Recording in the Daily Summary of Magazine Transactions; Aluminum Type 2 and Type 3 Magazines; Advertised as “ATF Approved”; ATF to Host Explosives Regulatory Conference; Questions and Answers; Explosives Thefts Reported During 2011

Published/Revised: June 30, 2012

June 2013 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.5 MB]

What's In This Issue: New Publication; Exploding Ammunition Requirements; Smoke Producing Devices; Reagents; Canadian Type 4 Magazines vs. U.S. Type 2 Magazines; Hardwood or Softwood?; Interior Walls for Type 1 Magazines; Gun Loading Facilities; Horizontally-Mounted Hoods; Indoor Storage Reminders; Recordkeeping Reminders; Permittee Disposal of Surplus Stock; Questions and Answers; Explosives Thefts From 2006-2012

Published/Revised: June 30, 2013

June 2016 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 538.19 KB]

What's In This Issue: New Division Chief; Bomb Threat and Suspicious Package Publication; Transfer of Unmarked Explosive Materials; Nitrocellulose; Explosives Storage in Trailers; Type 2 Magazine Floors and Roofs; Highways; Marijuana Use and Prohibited Persons; Background Investigation and Denial; Lost, Stolen or Destroyed IPECs; Lists of Authorized Persons; Remote Storage Locations and Responsible Persons; Seismic and Geophysical Operations … Continued; 2015 Annual List of Explosive Materials

Published/Revised: June 30, 2016

June 2016 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter - Addendum [PDF - 196.45 KB]

What's In This Issue: Nitrocellulose - Update

Published/Revised: August 31, 2016

May 2002 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.3 MB]

What's In This Issue: A Message From the Chief, Arson & Explosives Programs Division; Changes in the A&E Division; Violent Offender Branch Gets New Chief; Bulk Salutes and Licensing; Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) Restrictions; Phone Number for National Licensing Center Changed; ATF's Lab New First Response Field Lab Vehicles; ATF Meets With ISEE, APA; Explosives Forms; Explosives Questions; Fugitive Corner; First Quarter 2002 Explosive Thefts

Published/Revised: May 31, 2002

May 2003 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 255.79 KB]

What's In This Issue: Safe Explosives Act of 2002 - Key Provisions Outlined; Application for Restoration of Explosives Privileges; Changes Within ATF Resulting From the Signing of the Homeland Security Bill; Frequently Asked Questions; The New Federal Explosives License and Permit Application - Explosive Applications and Renewals

Published/Revised: May 31, 2003

November 2001 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 799.28 KB]

What's In This Issue: A Message From the Chief, Arson & Explosives Programs Division; Transfers of Explosives In-State; ATF Meets With ISEE, PGI; Fugitive Corner; Third Quarter 2001 Explosives Thefts

Published/Revised: November 30, 2001

November 2002 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 1.29 MB]

What's In This Issue: A Message From the Chief, Arson & Explosives Programs Division; ATF Hosts Explosives Industry Executive Meeting; Variances; EPA and the Toxic Substances Control Act; New Industry Circulars; International Explosives Assistance & Coordination; Fugitive Corner

Published/Revised: November 30, 2002

October 2021 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 264.13 KB]

What's In This Issue: New Assistant Director, EPS; New Deputy Assistant Director, EPS; FEID Personnel Changes; Updated Form for Explosives Theft or Loss; Articles Pyrotechnic Exemption; Overview of IMESAFR; Reporting Employee Possessors; Changes to the List of Explosive Materials; Report Suspicious Activity; Underground Storage Reminder; Authorized Persons List; Q&As; Updated Publications; 2020 ATF Webinar

Published/Revised: October 31, 2021

September 2001 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 498.85 KB]

What's In This Issue: A Message from the Chief, Arson and Explosives Programs Division (AEPD); Changes in Arson and Explosives Programs Division; International Explosives Assistance; Bunker Explosion in Arkansas; Advanced Explosives Destruction Techniques; Shock Tube Storage Requirements; License and Permit Simplification; Bombing Case in Virginia Solved; Fugitive Corner; ATF National Laboratory Project Update; Second Quarter 2001 Explosives Thefts; Correction of National Repository Fax Number

Published/Revised: September 30, 2001

September 2006 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 191.43 KB]

What's In This Issue: Compliance Issues Involving the Fireworks Industry; Table of Distances; License or Permit; Incomplete Applications; Securing Storage Magazines; Daily Summary of Magazine Transactions (Revisited); Questions and Answers

Published/Revised: September 30, 2006

September 2008 - Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL) Newsletter [PDF - 602.15 KB]

What's In This Issue: Carson W. Carroll Named Assistant Director (Enforcement Programs and Services); Changes in the Arson and Explosives Programs Division; New Headquarters Building; Two New Field Divisions; New “Orange Book”; Storage Rulings; Fireworks Recordkeeping and Marks of Identification; Information Resources; Variance Request Guidelines; Determination Request Guidelines; Exemption Request Guidelines; Who Should Complete a Theft or Loss Report?; 2007 Explosives Thefts

Published/Revised: September 30, 2008

Last Updated: July 10, 2026

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