FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  
 Contact: Gail H. Davis  
  
                                              FY 98-9  
                                              Date: June 1,1998

                                       
         

           The Bogus Fireworks Danger Factor

  Washington--M-80, ashcan, and quarterstick are some of the street
 names for illegal explosive devices falsely described as
 fireworks. All types of the illegal devices have maimed and/or
 killed.  

 A typical M-80 is about the size of a half-roll of dimes, with a
 fuse. Quarter and a half sticks are even larger.  

 An M-80 is "touchy" and a bump, heat, or static electricity can
 detonate the device in your pocket ... your hand ... your face.  

 People sometimes sell M-80s in bags of a "gross" (12 dozen) and
 sometimes store hundreds of pounds of illegal devices in homes and
 rental storage units. Those places become huge, unstable bombs
 capable of shattering residences and businesses in an entire city
 block.  

 For more information on ATF, visit the ATF Web site at  

 www.atf.treas.gov.  
                                   -end-