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.
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NOAA Study on 4th of July Fireworks and Spikes in Air Pollution
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by ikanreed on Wednesday July 01 2015, @02:40PM
Is how effective our previous of emissions have been in terms of limiting harm. Scrubbers and catalytic converters do a lot to keep our air clean. Fireworks don't have any of that, and even though they're causing far less total chemical energy to be released than our various coal plants and combustion engines, they're dirty reactions.
Given the large amounts of sulfur used in many fireworks, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they spike acid rain as well.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @06:16PM
I hereby promise to purchase my kids an extra 5 dollars in loud nasty polluting fireworks for every comment that whines about fireworks in any way on this today.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by ikanreed on Wednesday July 01 2015, @06:26PM
Oh, look, an asshole responding to harmless observational comments as if they were an attack on a national holiday. I have some ideas about where you can put those fireworks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @07:07PM
My kids thank you, your up to $10.
You ever think that maybe it gets old hearing gripes about relatively harmless things like fireworks when you have billion of tons of carbon dumped into the atmosphere just by shipping our manufacturing base overseas. My week of fun with sparklers and smoke bombs and whistlers with my kids is a drop in the ocean. Go bitch about something important.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Wednesday July 01 2015, @07:17PM
Do what you want, any contrary opinions you think I have are a delusion. All I was doing was observing the quality and utility of goddamn catalytic converters, and you're playing the "I'm so oppressed by your unrelated opinions that I really have to be fucking insane to twist into some attack on me" card.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:26PM
Just make it $1000 -- spend your whole paycheck even.
I used to be a total pyro. In recent years though, I'm just not that interested in summer fireworks because it is so damn hot outside, and I have to close all my windows to keep the smoke out. That makes for one long miserable stuffy night. Plus, it isn't like we have much to celebrate aside from a steady slide into authoritarianism, which I don't actually find celebration-worthy. In my younger years, any excuse to light off fireworks was good enough, but as I turn into a grumpy old man, I just want to be able to leave the windows open all night. Now I find that I still enjoy the ones on New Years ... but there's no personal downside (because it's freezing out and my windows are closed anyway).
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:01PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:39PM
I hate fireworks, dad.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:43PM
The fireworks set off my asthma, Dad.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:46PM
Loud fireworks should be banned. Love, The Dog
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @09:50PM
Fireworks are for rednecks, Dad. -Annon Jr.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday July 01 2015, @03:14PM
A remarkably large number of Darwin Awards are given out for actions taken on July 4th - the combination of explosives and alcoholic stupor is enough to remove many from the gene pool.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @03:19PM
remove many from the gene pool
It really isn't, yet many states heavily regulate fireworks. I'm sure drunk driving on July 4th takes many more lives.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @03:29PM
five people per year were killed directly by fireworks ... no reported fire deaths
Five direct deaths and presumably no indirect deaths per year due to fireworks.
http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fire-causes/fireworks [nfpa.org]
[~150 people per year] lost their lives in crashes involving drivers with a BAC of .08 or more
So, there is around 30x the number of drunk driving deaths on the fourth of July compared to fireworks.
http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/july4th [trafficsafetymarketing.gov]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Tramii on Wednesday July 01 2015, @04:08PM
It really isn't, yet many states heavily regulate fireworks.
Which is pretty ironic, when you think about it. The 4th is supposed to be a celebration of freedom, yet many do not have the freedom to actually celebrate it any more.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:30PM
Freedom to use high explosives? Just don't tell ISIS about this...please.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:36PM
Your freedom stops well short of my roof.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(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.
(Score: 2) by Tramii on Wednesday July 01 2015, @07:10PM
So basically, we cannot allow people to have freedoms that might possibly be used to harm others, right?
Sounds like a quick way to strip away all freedoms to me.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @07:28PM
That does seem to be the way things work in the socialist nanny state environment that most young voters prefer.
We sadly have slipped under the control of the least capable yet most demanding government teat suckers in history.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:03PM
Well, in all fairness that might point to the success of the regulations. You'd need a before/after snapshot to make any strong claim.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:36PM
Drunk driving is also regulated.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by captain normal on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:33PM
Not enough...
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @03:17PM
I am sure that BBQs "temporarily increase particulate pollution" as well.
Is it really a "toxic effect on our atmosphere" if it is only one day for a hand-full of hours?
(Score: 3, Informative) by M. Baranczak on Wednesday July 01 2015, @04:09PM
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:15PM
BBQ is awful for organics / hydrocarbons, not particulates. I would imagine propane is particulate free and charcoal isn't going to be too bad.
Now on the other hand, that last batch of brats I grilled probably squirted more hydrocarbons into the atmosphere than my wife's Prius lifetime emissions. Must have been a pound of pork fat vaporized out of that five pounds or whatever of brats.
The worst holiday polluter is probably the bonfire people who insist on throwing in pressure treated and broken plastic lawnchairs and similar and let it smoulder (invariably unwatched) for three days until their homemade superfund site burns out. This is also an aspect of camping I don't like. I want to camp in the woods not experience the smells and smoke inhalation of a forest fire.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday July 01 2015, @11:11PM
If you breathe the smoke from burning plastic you get dioxin which is a known strong cancerous substance and poisonous. So if anyone does it in your surroundings I suggest you take harsh action against the ill doers.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:47PM
I am sure that BBQs "temporarily increase particulate pollution" as well.
Oh, I don't know, all that food was going to get cooked anyway.
(I'd be interested in knowing what percent of BBQs are gas these days. I suspect a gas grill is no worse than cooking on a gas stove).
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2015, @06:38PM
There is no BBQ without smoke. BBQ is low heat slow cooking.
Gas grills or high-heat cooking of food on a grill is called grilling.
(Score: 2, Funny) by sparky on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:21PM
Thanks for the warning NOAA. I accept the risks.
Joe Dirt: So you're gonna tell me that you don't have no black cats, roman candles, or screaming mimis?
Kicking Wing: No.
Joe Dirt: Oh come on, man. You don't got no lady fingers, fuzz buttles, snicker bombs, church burners, finger blasters, gut busters, zippity do das, or crap flappers?
Kicking Wing: No, I don't.
Joe Dirt: You're gonna stand there, owning a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistling bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hüsker düs, hüsker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistling kitty chaser?
Kicking Wing: No... because snakes and sparklers are the only ones I like.
Joe Dirt: Well that might be your problem. It's not what you like, it's the consumer.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @05:58PM
Meh! Around here, things have totally turned upside down.
Its hard to find the high shooting consumer grade sky burst type fireworks, UNLESS you go to the Indian reservations.
City/county regulations progressively ban them, but they can't touch the reservations.
Oddly authorities used to ban gun running TO the Indians, now they are trying to figure out a way to ban explosive running FROM the Indians. You can't throw a poker chip from the front gate of an Tribal Casino without hitting an Tribal fireworks stand.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Kromagv0 on Wednesday July 01 2015, @06:28PM
Sounds similar to every fireworks stand within eyesight of the MN WI border. Sadly I have found it better to go over to Wisconsin to buy Minnesota legal fireworks than to buy from a temp stand near my house. The bigger permanent chain stands have their own lines of house brand stuff that is cheaper and also better than comparable stuff that you find in Minnesota since in Wisconsin those have to compete with the mortars, rockets, roman candles, etc. while in Minnesota they don't. Now I wonder if the tribes in MN could sell non MN legal fireworks since they occupy an odd place in US and MN law.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @07:19PM
Yeah, don't know about tribes in Minnesota. I use to live their, and know that some of the tribes have right to go across the border any time they want, but their reservation rules are from a different treaty than the ones in Washington State.
Seems the various regions of the US have totally different reservation rules.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Kromagv0 on Wednesday July 01 2015, @08:37PM
Well the different rules seems to come from that fact that each tribe is considered to some degree to be it's own nation. It makes for a legal mess and at least in Minnesota has caused a number of issues. One that I remember from a few years ago is that the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's reservation falls within the city limits of Prior Lake and wasn't paying for various city services since they don't have property tax. The two casinos on their reservation makes them one of the wealthiest tribes in the state and the city was spending all sorts of money to plow their streets. Eventually it got sorted out but it was a rather ambiguous issue as to who was right. There have been other similar dust ups over fishing rights up in some of the norther parts of MN.
This also ignores the issues about fishing on Red Lake and what has happened to some fishermen when they drifted across the boundary up there, personally I wouldn't have been any where near the boundary to begin with so they aren't completely absolved of fault. This also is likely a problem with some of their random 40-160 acre holdings they have up in northern MN. Unlike all other land in MN, if you can't tell that it is privately owned (posted or clear transition of the land) the owner can demand you leave and you have to but that is it, if you happen to wander on to one of these odd one off acreages the tribe can confiscate all your stuff like they have done to fishermen on Red Lake.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday July 01 2015, @10:39PM
This also is likely a problem with some of their random 40-160 acre holdings they have up in northern MN. Unlike all other land in MN, if you can't tell that it is privately owned (posted or clear transition of the land) the owner can demand you leave and you have to but that is it, if you happen to wander on to one of these odd one off acreages the tribe can confiscate all your stuff like they have done to fishermen on Red Lake.
I actually remember that happening to us when I was quite young. My dad and I drifted over the line and some guys from the tribe came out and told us. They were nice about it, my dad was nice about it, we hadn't caught anything over there, shook hands and went our way. Guess they didn't figure a guy comes out to poach in a row boat full of kids.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Wednesday July 01 2015, @08:58PM
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday July 01 2015, @11:17PM
Don't worry too much about the smoke. The pollutants that leak from used fireworks that ends up on the ground after all. Will contain stuff you don't want in your drinking water or for farming use. Bonus points, you can get firework pollutants in your food from other countries too.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2015, @01:31AM
Dear NOAA, please remember this the next time you want a satellite launched into orbit on a rocket that doesn't use Hydrogen for fuel. The solids on a Delta II have 28,000 lbs. of propellant each and there can be anywhere from 3 to 9 motors per mission. Don't have the specs for Atlas V or Delta IV solids but they're likely to be much larger.