Expired Distress Flares – what should you do
Most manufacturers tend to date their distress flares to expire at the end of December, so your winter inspection routine is a good time to check them. If any have expired or appear to have deteriorated through damage or through being left in water, then quarantine them immediately in a separate container and remove them from the vessel as soon as possible.
DO NOT keep them as back-ups and DO NOT set them off on bonfire night. It is a criminal offence to set a distress flare off, other than in a genuine emergency.
Using a distress flares that has past its expiry date could easily lead to serious injury and could potentially cause damage to a vessel or other property. See BBC: Flare struck boat as family slept
Once a distress flare has passed its expiry date the chemical compounds inside will begin to degrade. The problem with this degradation is that you will never know to what degree the compounds inside have deteriorated and as a result the way it behaves when it is ignited will be totally unpredictable.
One possibility is that the distress flare may fail to ignite properly when you pull the cord or push the lever. NEVER, hold a distress flare close to your face to see what is happening once you have activated the firing mechanism. It may just be burning slowly and could instantaneously ignite causing terrible injuries.
If a distress flare fails to go-off in the way you are expecting then place it in a bucket of water for 24hrs. Contact your local MCA (Maritime & Coastguard Agency) office for advice about safe disposal. List of Regional MCA Offices
Disposal
Disposal of expired distress flares can be a real problem. You certainly should not throw them overboard as they frequently get washed up on the beach in a bad condition and could easily harm a curious child who picks them up.
The Coastguard is now very reluctant to accept them being dropped off at their offices and the Police will only accept distress flares that have been abandoned in a public place.
Unfortunately many of these ‘discount chandlers’ advertised on the internet seem to be more than happy to take your money when you want to buy new distress flares, however getting help from them when it comes to the disposal of your old ones can be like getting blood from a stone.
The best advice is to contact a reputable Liferaft Service Station or Marine Safety Equipment Specialists who normally have proper storage and disposal facilities. They may charge you a few pounds for the service, so ring them up first to get a quotation based on the quantity you want to dispose of. By offering this friendly and helpful service they are more likely to receive your future business when you need to get your liferaft serviced or when you want to buy some new distress flares to replace your old ones. See List of UK Liferaft Service Stations