According to the Washington Post a recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reviewed the short term impact of 4th of July fireworks on air pollution across the US:
Every July 4, the 14,000-plus dazzling fireworks displays across the nation have a toxic effect on our atmosphere. A new NOAA study shows they temporarily increase particulate pollution by an average of 42 percent.
The first of its kind study, published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, analyzed concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at 315 U.S. air quality monitoring stations between 1999 and 2013.
The original press release from the NOAA links to the report itself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @06:35PM
Your freedom to drink alcohol is preserved at the cost of 30x more deaths on the same day.
You have a point though. Maybe aerial fireworks should be legally restricted to a certain area.