Flares must never be used after expiry date. Pyrotechnics must be treated as Hazardous and should be disposed of responsibly in accordance with regulations and local rules.
Yes - it keeps them dry and safe from accidental damage
As part of your safety briefing ensure your crew are familiar with how to find and operate your distress signals. It is the Captain's responsibility.
Only use in an emergency situation.
Point flares outboard, downwind and away from your body. Always follow the instructions.
Use red flares by day or night.
Use orange smoke in daylight. It is typically used to show wind direction for rescue helicopters.
Immediately seek medical advice.
All the pyrotechnic products supplied from Chemring Marine Ltd must be transported under the worldwide regulations for Class 1 Hazardous products by air, road, rail or sea.
If moving them from your boat or plane treat your flares with care and do not drop. If accidentally dropped, inspect for any damage
Do not store near sources of heat, or where children have access.
Do not expose to extremes of temperature, humidity and damp.
Do not drop. If accidentally dropped check flare for damage.
Never use normal mail to transport these products.
Never fire distress signals if not in an emergency situation as vital rescue services will be falsely alerted. You may put someone's life in danger trying to rescue you.
Do not touch. Notify the Coast Guard, Fire or Police
Pyrotechnics must be treated as Hazardous and should be disposed of responsibly in accordance with national and local regulations.
The latest statement from the UK MCA as of 23.12.09
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has contracted in a private firm to take over from the Ministry of Defence in dealing with time expired pyrotechnics (emergency flares) in the UK.
Coastguards hope this new regime will clarify the situation with regard to out of date flares owned by yachtsmen and the difficulties many have encountered trying to dispose of them legally.
A statement released by the MCA today states: The collection and disposal service will no longer be undertaken by the Ministry of Defence MoD) with effect from the 31 March 2010 because of their operational ressures.
The MCA has awarded a new contract to undertake the collection and disposal of Time Expired Pyrotechnics TEPs) from its premises. The new contracted service will be phased in from December 2009 with Ramora UK Ltd of Portsmouth. (www.ramorauk.com)
Following recent changes of legislation with regard to the storage and transportation of explosives, MCA premises now require to be brought into line with those changes. This will mean that the number of sites which will be able to accept TEPs will be significantly reduced.
The Agency plan to achieve this by concentrating available resources on 18 sites evenly spaced across the country. Analysis of the quantities of TEPs deposited with the MCA indicate that up to 70% of items find their way to the vicinity of the 18 proposed sites which will accept TEPs.
Click on this link for UK regulations https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/public/c4/solasv/m_notice/mgn/mgn287.pdf
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/pyrotechnics.htm
Old flares in Singapore http://www.whbrennan.com