Fireworks and Air Pollution: Why Fireworks Are Environmentally Irresponsible

The Rockets' Red Glare Puts Some Strontium in the Air

Whether it’s for celebrating a national holiday, energizing a local festival, or just the strange amusement of seeing things blown up, Americans set off fireworks ranging from the cheap driveway rocket to the six-figure civic show. In creating and spectating pyrotechnic displays, though, few seem to consider the rather obvious link between fireworks and air pollution.  The result is an environmentally irresponsible form of entertainment. 

Fireworks and Air Pollution: Blackpowder (Gunpowder)

In order for fireworks to shoot up into the air and explode, a host of pyrotechnic chemicals are used, including the charcoal and calcium and sulfur compounds that comprise blackpowder (gunpowder). When fireworks are set off, these chemicals react to ignite and propel the explosives and then account for the bulk of the smoky, dusty mess that hangs in the air long after the luminary effects have faded. All one has to do is look at (and smell) the giant mass of particulate matter concentrated in the air after a large display to understand the extent to which fireworks and air pollution are synonymous. 

Fireworks and Air Pollution: Metal Salts for Color