Each year after the Chinese Lunar New Year, sanitation workers collected thousands of tons of debris (the number for 2009 is 2,268) from the fireworks in downtown Beijing. Similarly, the United States has celebrated the nation’s independence on July 4 by shooting off fireworks for long. Amid all the beauty and majesty of fireworks, people forget that they make a lot of garbage.

Fireworks along Charles River in Boston, MA on July 4, 2009. Photo by Bo Zhang

Fireworks’ sin originates in the materials they are made of. The most common fireworks are, basically, pasteboard tubes filled with combustible materials – gunpowder, metals, oxidizers and other toxic ingredients. Depending on their combination, these materials can produce a great variety of sparkling shapes – often variously colored – when kindled.

The smoke from fireworks combustion can contain harmful fumes such as ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide. In addition to the adverse effects on climate change and global warming, the fumes can easily enter people’s lungs and threaten those with asthma or vulnerable to air pollution. A case study appeared in Atmospheric Environment in November, 2007 has shown that within one 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.

If the fumes are just a transient effect, the dust and residue raining down on earth and water after the exhibitions cause lasting pollutions. A commonly used substance to oxidize fireworks is perchlorate, which can severely contaminate soil and water. A study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate the potential release of perchlorate to the environment as a result of a typical fireworks display showed that perchlorate concentrations could take up to 80 days to decrease toward the safe level after fireworks. Although the time periods seem short in nature, they are highly concentrated, contribute significantly to the environmental pollution, and are fine enough to be a health risk to susceptible individuals. Besides, there is physical litter created by explosions. Not only requiring extra time and money to clean up, these residues may be carried away by rain and end up in lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Palm trees are silhouetted by the nightly fireworks display over Disneyland on July 29, 2002 in Anaheim, California. Credit: PicApp.com

Therefore, it’s time to reconsider ways of celebrating our festivals. Developments of green fireworks have brought some hope. The Disney Company announced in 2004 that it had devised a new fireworks firing mechanism that uses compressed air instead of gunpowder. Besides, laser light show is another option to thrill a crowd without exerting any negative effects to our planet.