This weekend, nearly every community in America stages a fireworks display. So is there a cumulative effect on the environment from the chemicals exploded into our atmosphere?

It’s more of an issue with nightly fireworks displays such as at SeaWorld or Disneyland, but, for instance, when set off over water, it does take time for the environment to recover from even one fireworks show (See report on an Oklahoma lake here).

Here are a few stories:

Fireworks Pollute…Barely
While most fireworks displays are annual, concerns are raised when there are displays weekly or nightly, as in the case with a lawsuit between Coastkeepers and Sea World in San Diego. See article and follow-up.

Fireworks Produce Ozone
Intense Amounts of Fireworks Displays can Jumpstart Smog Reactions:
A study done in India revealed that during Dawali, the amount of fireworks at ground level can create ozone. See article.

What Chemicals are Used In Fireworks?
See an overview and chart of what compounds produce the particular colors in a fireworks display.

New Technologies Make Fireworks Greener:

New Safer Colors:
A March 26, 2008 article from Environmental Research Web (req. free registration to read article) details the results of new research for signal flares replacing heavy metals as color elements with different kinds of nitrogen compounds to create reds and greens. See article.

Better Propellants than Gunpowder
Since 2004, the Disney Theme Parks (except Hong Kong) have used a proprietary compressed-air technology to launch their fireworks (there are still explosives in the fireworks themselves), which is more essential for a place that has nightly displays. In Hong Kong, however, there are still problems with pollution from the fireworks.

NOVA:

NOVA’s Fireworks Episode has a lot of supplemental information about how fireworks are made, the different types and how they function.