Can you name 4 dangerous impacts of fireworks? Is this something you have thought about before?
One reoccurring memory I have from growing up in a suburban neighbourhood is fireworks. Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, and sometimes for no particular reason; fireworks are a staple for the summer, and of course News Years. However, have you ever wondered how these spectacular light and sound shows impact our environment?
I’m here to share with you 4 dangerous impacts of fireworks on our planet and health, and suggest ways that we can make our celebrations more sustainable.
1. Leftover debris = litter.
This is probably the most obvious problem. The day after a fireworks show you find debris all over the place. As a child I recall returning to school after the Victoria Day long weekend and finding pieces of fragmented firework tubes littered all across our schoolyard. If they are left there overnight, who is going to clean them later? Unless some good citizen goes around collecting them, these pieces of litter (because yes, it is litter) will remain on the ground. Even worse, they can find their way into rivers and lakes with wind or rain.
2. Chemicals that poison.
Fireworks are not just pieces of cardboard — they won’t break down easily in the environment. In fact, most contain chemicals that are toxic to environmental and human health.
Most fireworks contain lithium, copper and sometimes mercury to create the bright colours we love, which are carcinogenic, slowly poisoning aquatic and human life if found in our waters.
Lead dioxide, chloride and nitrates are used as oxidizers (makes fireworks go boom). Lead accumulates in organisms and continue through the food chain. Phytoplankton, which are the bottom of the food chain and some of the most crucial organisms in food webs, are negatively impacted by even small increases in lead exposure.
As other organisms like fish consume these phytoplankton they also consume the lead, which builds up in their body, along with the lead they are directly exposed to in the water. This will then pass on to the organisms that eat the fish, eventually finding its way to humans. Elevated levels of nitrogen and chlorine can disrupt organ systems and lead to eutrophication of water bodies, cutting off all oxygen from the environment as algae blooms suffocate everything under the water. High concentrations of lead in the human body can impact haemoglobin production (which are essential for red blood cells), kidney damage, miscarriages, disrupt the nervous system and more. In other words, fluctuations in nutrient levels can impact entire food chains and ecosystems.
3. Sound pollution = panic and damage.
Fireworks are loud, that’s one of their signature characteristics. But just how loud can they be?
Some fireworks can make sounds over 150 decibels. For reference, a jet taking off can also be that loud; thunder is only 120 decibels. Hearing sounds above 110 decibels for prolonged periods of time (15 minutes or more) can cause damage to the human ear. Not only that, but sounds this loud have been observed to cause distress and anxiety in animals. For instance, loud noises like fireworks can startle and disorient deer, causing them to wander into roadways and be hit by cars. Birds can fly into windows or abandon their nests full of babies.
Next time you hear those loud booms from the park down the street, imagine how loud it is for birds or other small mammals that 1) have tiny ear drums, 2) are much closer to the sounds, and 3) have no clue what is causing the sound. Also, have you ever seen your pet freak out during a thunderstorm? Loud fireworks create the same anxiety!
4. Fireworks produce emissions.
What makes fireworks go boom? Gunpowder, which use charcoal or carbon as fuel. When they explode in the air, where do these carbon molecules go? Into the atmosphere.
On average, 270 grams of gunpowder produces 132 grams of carbon dioxide. In 2006, over 123 metric tonnes of fireworks were used in the USA alone. This amount produces roughly 60,000 tonnes of emissions. That’s more than what 12,000 cars produce in a year!
A group of researchers tested atmospheric concentrations of fine particulate matter (really small particles like aerosols, smoke and ash) after the July 4 long weekend in the States at 315 sites around the country. Their results, shown below, demonstrate how concentrations of PM in the atmosphere more than doubled between 8pm and 11pm, the prime firework times. On average, PM levels increased 42 percent above average between July 4th-5th. Monitoring sites next to fireworks shown demonstrating PM levels rising as much as 370 percent.
Increased levels of PM in the atmosphere can harm both humans and the environment. For humans, damage can be felt from long or short-term exposure to high PM levels. Fireworks that produce smoke or create a hazy atmosphere close to the ground can cause coughing, wheezing and other respiratory problems. Asthmatics, those suffering lung diseases, children and elderly individuals are especially vulnerable.
PM also contributes to environmental damage. Water can become acidic, making aquatic ecosystems extremely harmful to shelled organisms. They can throw off nutrient cycles, contribute to erosion and reduce visibility, causing organisms to run in front of cars, hit trees and more.
The way forward
There are many more adverse effects of fireworks. With fireworks being a crucial part of many cultures’ celebrations, it is not feasible to simply say “stop using fireworks.”
However, there are a few options to make our celebratory practices more sustainable. For one, we could demand better testing and standards for fireworks producers. Banning certain chemicals from being used that are known toxins and redesigning packaging without the plastic could help. Better monitoring and enforcement of littering fines can reduce the residue left in nature after celebrations. This can prevent dangerous materials and chemicals from ending up in our waterways or food.
Educating each other on the impacts of fireworks on both environmental and human health, and perhaps changing our celebratory traditions to be less pollutive (a laser light show instead of fireworks) is a great way to make change in our own lives.
Final thoughts
Now you know 4 dangerous impacts of fireworks on our planet and health. Perhaps you never thought about the impacts of fireworks on the environment and our health before.
I hope this post had been insightful for you and will inspire you to make a change in your own life. Many of the habits we have today have devastating externalities that we rarely recognize, simply because they go unquestioned.
By recognizing these unsustainable practices, we can now begin to question them more and seek improvement. I encourage you to think about another tradition or celebratory event that you take part in, and question the impacts of that particular event on the environment or your own health. You may be surprised by the realizations you make. Comment below the practice you think of, its potential externalities, and what you can do to make that practice more sustainable.
What other practices are harmful to the planet and environment that often go unnoticed? I talk about others in these posts:
As always, thank you for reading, and until next time!