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4th Of July Fireworks: The Dangers Of Pyrotechnics In The Environment
The 4th of July in the US is noisy! Yahoo Finance [yahoo.com] says that the American Pyrotechnic Association estimates that over $800 million will be spent on fireworks this year (up from $775M last year).
With that much gunpowder on the loose, safety (for humans, pets, and property) is a concern. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 230 people go to the emergency room every day with firework-related injuries in the month surrounding the Fourth of July. While safety issues are the main concern, there are also environmental implications that people have to look out for.
Science World reports: [scienceworldreport.com]
[...]Fireworks can add a lot of pollution in the air. According to The Guardian [theguardian.com], firework smoke is rich in metal particles - making it very different than the average urban air pollution. These metal particles used to make firework colors different include strontium or lithium (red), copper (blue) and barium compounds (bright green or white). With more colors also come more chemicals - Rubidium (purple), and cadmium (various colors).
Cadmium is a known human carcinogen that damages lungs and can fluster the stomach if consumed. If this chemical gets back on the ground, plants, animals, and even fish can eat or absorb them, and make their way up the food chain,
To blow these fireworks up, charcoal and sulfur fuel, as well as potassium nitrate are mixed together in a form of gunpowder, which helps the fireworks and other pyrotechnics blow up in the air. Modern gunpowder uses perchlorates, which use chemicals with chlorine and oxygen as oxidizers. High levels of Percholates limit the ability of thyroid glands to take iodine from the bloodstream resulting in hypothyroidism.
Mother Nature News [mnn.com] pointed out that although the use of fireworks are fleeting and infrequent, they spray a toxic concoction that end up on lakes, river, and bays, and many of them have chemical that don't break down, making them dangerous to the animals in the water.
