Do you consider yourself environmentally conscious and responsible?? You might not know that all those colorful explosives used to celebrate special occasions.... (your firecrackers, skyrockets, Roman candles and yes even those so-called "harmless" sparklers)... pose a serious environmental and health danger from heavy metals and other toxic firework fallout. So the next time you are about to set off or buy some cheap fireworks or even attend an outdoor fireworks display, ask yourself....... Is a few minutes of pyrotechnic entertainment really worth needlessly polluting the environment?

Many fireworks are imported from China which is scary because they have a proven track record of cutting corners by using cheaper, more toxic materials. Some of the metals also have radioactive isotopes... hopefully they aren't being used in any fireworks. The American Fireworks Standards Laboratory (AFSL) has established a testing and certification program for Chinese and U.S. fireworks to determine if they are being produced according to AFSL Standards (which meet all U.S. federal requirements). There is a list of prohibited toxic chemicals in the standards but unfortunately participation in the program is voluntary for manufacturers and importers. Firework shipments that pass standards only assure that one random sample from the lot has been tested and met all requirements [2]. Will you trust the quality of your air to China??

For the color effect of fireworks, toxic heavy metals like barium, aluminum, lead, mercury salts, antimony, copper, and strontium can be used in firework compositions. Outdated heavy metals that have been used in the past include rubidium and cadmium. Some toxic elements are supposedly not used in fireworks anymore like lead compounds, chlorates, and mercury as mercurous chloride (calomel), but some firework chemical outlets still sell some of these ingredients, they can still be seen in some pyrotechnic chemical lists, and homemade fireworks makers still sometimes talk about using them.

A case study has shown that within 1 hour of fireworks displays levels of Strontium in the air increased 120 times, Magnesium 22 times, Barium 12 times, Potassium 11 times, and Copper 6 times more than the amount present in the air before the event. Strontium was found to be the best tracer in this study because it measured very high during the event and much lower at other time intervals which indicated that it was mostly a result of the fireworks display. [4]

Another study found that firework events brought air pollution spikes in suspended particles, Nitric oxide (NO), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), and created and dispersed an aerosol cloud hosting a range of metallic elements. The researchers found that although the "recreational pollution" from fireworks is transient in nature, the pollutants are highly concentrated and add significantly to the total yearly metal emissions and the particles are on average small enough to be easily inhaled which poses a health risk to sensitive individuals. [5]

Researchers have found that fireworks can create a burst of ozone which is an extremely reactive greenhouse gas molecule that can attack and irritate the lungs. The ozone is believed to be caused by ultraviolet light released by chemicals in fireworks... which in this study were sparklers. [7]

Accidents: In 2000-2004, fireworks started an estimated 32,300 reported fires per year, including 2,700 building and vehicle fires. More fires are reported on the 4th of July than any other day of the year [1]. Kind of ironic that many local volunteer fire departments often raise needed funds by selling fireworks.

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