Why fireworks are bad for health and the environment....

Steemians,

As we are celebrating the 4th of July in the USA there are plenty of opportunities to see the delightful colored fireworks all around the country.

While we revel in celebrations and take our children to see these multicolored displays there is an ugly side to fireworks. So let's back up a little and look at the history of fireworks and find out why they are are hazardous to our health, domestic and wild animals including the environment.

A very brief history of fireworks

Fireworks were thought to first be introduced by the Chinese 2000 years ago. The Chinese used bamboo sticks and burned them over a fire charred them and the air inside them used to explode - creating what we would call the first fireworks. Later on they added gun powder, cast-iron and steel fragments to make them sparkle. The rest is history! China is still the biggest producer of fireworks even today!

How are fireworks made?

The journey I am about to take with you will not only astound you but will give you a whole new view about fireworks and their effects on the environment and our health.

The fireworks we are most familiar with are firecrackers and sparklers and these form the basis of the larger fireworks that light up the night sky during major celebrations.

Firecrakers are rolled up paper tubes filled with gun powder or flash paper and a fuse. When the fuse is lit it burns until reaching the gunpowder at which time it explodes.

Sparklers, on the other hand, are slightly different. They light up for a longer period of time and do not have an explosion. They contain more substances than fire crackers that aids their longevity. The bright sparks that you see are created by the metals used therein. Metals such as aluminum, iron, steel or magnesium, to name a few.

Aerial fireworks are created as a shell with four parts. The container is a pasted paper. The fuse allows the shell to reach the required height before exploding. An exploding charge made of gunpowder is found at the center of the shell as described for the firecracker. Stars (sparkler like substances) are placed throughout the interior of the shell. When these are lit we see the explosion that appears like magic in the skies above. Adjusting the location and explosion time of the stars is what creates the differences in sparkles released.

Why is is bad for health and how does it pollute the environment?

Research by the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials shows that metallic particles used in fireworks is hazardous to health and most especially for those suffering from respiratory issues.

Indeed, from a personal perspective I have seen the plumes settle in urban areas and I have suffered from the respiratory effects following exposure.

What is in fireworks?

Color Red: strontium and lithium salts or carbonates
According to the American Chemical Society Strontium is highly toxic to the body and environment.

Strontium's non-radioactive isotopes are not considered toxic but it is never found free in nature. The radioactive isotope (Sr-90, half life of 29.1 years) is a total hazard. It is created during nuclear explosions and belongs to the same group of metals as calcium (incidentally some isotopes are used in some radiation therapy for cancers). When Sr-90 is ingested or inhaled it is processed the same way as calcium in the body creating risk of cancer, most especially bone cancer and leukemia.

Sr-90 is known to pollute the soil and water at some reprocessing plants, such as those at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the Hanford Site in Washington, and the Mayak plant in Russia's southern Urals, necessitating the evacuation of more than 30 towns and villages.

Lithium

Lithium is best known as a drug used for bipolar disorders and is commonly found in drinking water. Do you really want to be drugged for a psychological disorder that you do not have?

Color Green: barium compounds

Barium is radioactive and is not found free in the environment. Barium nitrate is used to create the typical green color of firework displays. Barium nitrate is considered toxic and when inhaled can cause vomiting, nausea, respiratory issues, diarrhea, tremores, altered heart rate, paralysis and even death. Studies show barium increases exponentially after fireworks, so why are they being used and sprayed across the skies as celebratory displays?

Perchlorates

Perchlorates are found in fireworks, bleach and fertilizers. Much of our drinking water may be contaminanted with these compounds. They are endocrine disruptors and most especially have an affiliation with the thyroid gland - suppressing the thyroid as it mimics iodine. It is also a reproductive hazard, may be harmful to fetuses and is carcinogenic.

Antimony

Antimony is known as a toxic substance and can cause eye, lung, heart and stomach problems.

Other salt metals used are titanium (damages the lungs, is carcinogenic and is used widely in cosmetics, sunscreens and as food additives), aluminum (known to cause alzheimers), beryllium (if inhaled can cause serious lung disease or damage, lead to lung cancer and affects the immune system). There are many other compounds that I have not covered in this article.

What to do?

Keep away from fireworks and keep your animals indoors. Unfortunately, the particulate fallout from fireworks is not easily negotiated.

It would be advisable to manufacture heavy metal and perchlorate free fireworks or develop advanced holographic technology instead!

Will you think twice before exposing yourself, your children, animals and the environment to fireworks? It's no wonder there is such a high level of chronic disease, cancer and other ailments in our society we have so fully contaminated our environment not only with fireworks but so many other manufacturing and industrialized processes.

It's time for change.

References

https://www.fireworks.com/fireworks-university/pyrotechnic-compounds/?override_complete
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4828701/first-fireworks-history-july-4th/%3fsource=dam
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/f-sf-sff111610.php
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp159.pdf
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/80th/print/strontium.html
http://www.newsweek.com/are-fireworks-chemicals-dangerous-81679
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/beryllium/
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-risks-of-titanium/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4220320/
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts23.pdf