July 2, 2009 -- Fireworks are fun, exciting and often free to watch, but there may be a hidden cost: The flashing displays can harm the environment and pose risks to human health.
Now, scientists are working on a new generation of kinder, gentler pyrotechnics. While still explosive and dramatic, these fireworks produce less smoke and use fewer toxic metals that end up in soil and groundwater.
Eco-friendly fireworks are more expensive than the regular kind, and it's too soon to expect your neighborhood Fourth of July display to use them. But the research should be welcome news for people who operate or watch fireworks on a regular basis.
"Everyone at or downwind of a pyrotechnic display is getting subjected to levels of these metals that aren't natural levels," said David E. Chavez, a chemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. "Whether that really is going to cause health effects is up for debate."
Disneyland provided the initial impetus for Chavez's group to start investigating cleaner burning fireworks. Night after night, as the theme park put on spectacular fireworks displays, neighbors began to complain about smoke that was enveloping their homes and irritating their lungs. Elsewhere, studies have shown a rise in asthma attacks during fireworks-filled festivals.
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While particle-filled smoke may be the most obvious concern, it's not the only issue -- or even the worst one. Some of the metals that make fireworks colorful may also be poisonous when heated. For example, antimony, which is sometimes used to produce the color white, can harm the lungs, heart, stomach and other organs.
Barium, which provides a green hue, "does something really nasty to your insides and gastrointestinal tract," said Michael Hiskey, an explosive chemist at DMD Systems, a pyrotechnic research and development company. Barium can also be toxic to the heart.
Then there are perchlorates -- oxygen-rich molecules that allow the fuel in fireworks to burn. Perchlorates appear in nuclear missiles, flares and rocket fuel for spacecraft. So far, the Environmental Protection Agency has not set an upper limit for perchlorates in soil or water, even though the chemicals have been detected in drinking water in most states, as well as in breast milk and in store-bought cow's milk.
Animal studies have linked perchlorates, such as potassium perchlorate and ammonium perchlorate, to thyroid problems. Repeated pyrotechnic displays, especially ones that occur every day at theme parks, can take their toll.
In a 2007 study, researchers found that perchlorate levels spiked more than 1,000 times higher than normal in parts of a small Oklahoma lake within 14 hours after a Fourth of July fireworks show. It took up to 80 days for levels of the chemical to return to where they started, the team reported in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
"If you have a place where pyrotechnics are shot over and over again for years and years," Chavez said, "you will have a build-up of these toxins in the environment."
In the last two or three years, scientists have come up with some "greener" alternatives. Hiskey's company, for one, has developed fireworks that burn nitrogen-based fuels instead of carbon-based versions, making perchlorate unnecessary. The result is a cleaner burn, and with less smoke to obscure the color, these fireworks also contain 10 times less barium than the standard kind.
For now, eco-friendly fireworks are only being used by companies that put on regular displays, especially indoors, where smoke is particularly unacceptable. For most neighborhood shows, cost is still too limiting at this point. Prices won't come down, experts say, unless the EPA decides to place strict regulations on levels of toxic chemicals involved.
To have an earth-friendly Fourth of July celebration with or without fireworks, your best strategy for now is to follow the basics. Reduce, recycle, and take simple steps like drinking out of reusable water bottles instead of disposable ones. (For more everyday eco-friendly tips, visit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips-all.htm)
As for enjoying those flashing lights, Hiskey said, "Be safe. Don't be downwind from fireworks. And call it good."
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