Your Fourth of July celebrations are likely polluting local air and water. Here’s how
As you enjoy watching fireworks this Fourth of July, consider the toll they’re taking on the environment, including nearby air quality, bodies of water and wildlife.
Fireworks symbolize patriotism and celebration around the world, but at a basic level, they are explosives colored with heavy metals and other chemicals. Blue fireworks, for example, get their hue from copper salts, while red ones contain strontium salts.
When a firework explodes, it releases smoke and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen — some of the primary gases responsible for climate change. The heavy metals in fireworks do not disappear once the show is over. They can find their way into local air, water, and soil.
“Fireworks themselves are made up of some fairly toxic materials,” said Seth Preston, communications program manager for the Northwest Clean Air Agency. “When fireworks burn and explode, that material is being scattered into the air.”
A not-so-fun night for air, water, wildlife
Pollution from fireworks may be invisible to the naked eye, but it’s very real. During last year’s Fourth of July celebrations, for example, levels of fine particulate matter — or PM 2.5 — in downtown Bellingham increased more than tenfold between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to state data. This jump in pollution reduced the area’s air quality from a rating of “good” on the federal Air Quality Index to “moderate.”
The smoke produced is similar to that from wildfires, but air pollution from fireworks can be particularly unhealthy for humans and other creatures to inhale, Preston said. That’s because the smoke particles can be attached to toxic heavy metal particles, which are damaging to the sensitive lining of the lungs. Preston himself experienced the effects of this pollution during a summer celebration a number of years ago — after a night spent breathing in fireworks pollution, he felt sick for almost two days.
“Heavy metals are toxic. They’re not good for you,” Preston said. “It may be a matter of degree, but exposure is exposure.”
Individuals with preexisting lung and heart conditions are even more vulnerable to negative health impacts caused by this sort of air pollution.
Clare Fogelsong, the city of Bellingham’s natural resources policy manager, is particularly concerned about fireworks set off over local bodies of water, where pollutants can accumulate. This includes Bellingham Bay, where the city’s annual fireworks display takes place, and Lake Whatcom, which provides drinking water for Bellingham.
While there is no local data that proves fireworks are polluting nearby bodies of water, national research backs up Fogelsong’s concerns. A 2016 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that fireworks displays likely caused elevated levels of the contaminant perchlorate in surface and groundwater within Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Perchlorate is the oxidizing agent in fireworks, helping them to combust in dazzling ways.
At high levels in drinking water, perchlorate can interfere with the function of the human thyroid gland. However, researchers conducting the 2016 Mount Rushmore study found that levels met current regulations and were safe for public consumption.
In addition to polluting local water and air, the loud noises and bright lights from fireworks can frighten birds in colony nests, such as the great blue heron. Fleeing wildlife can end up in roadways, fly into buildings, or abandon their nests, leaving their young vulnerable to predators. Animals can also choke on debris from fireworks.
What’s a fireworks lover to do?
For those wondering how to balance their concern for the environment with a love for fireworks, Fogelsong recommends attending public shows, rather than setting off personal, unregulated fireworks. That way, you get extra bang — literally — for your environmental buck.
“Theoretically, we would not have fireworks adding toxics to the environment,” Fogelsong said. “But practically, the best way to minimize impact is to enjoy the community events and minimize dispersion of those toxics all over the city.”
Although consumer fireworks have been banned in Bellingham since 2014, it can be a difficult rule to enforce and many residents set them off illegally, Fogelsong said.
“It’s been my observation that these rules are made to be blown up,” he said. “We don’t allow fireworks in the city, but there seems to be enough to go around every year.”
Preston, with the Northwest Clean Air Agency, recommends people keep their distance from fireworks, whether at a public show or in their own backyard. For those intent on setting off their own fireworks, Preston urges them to consider their neighbors, as they will be breathing in pollution from the display as well.
“People are going to do what they are going to do,” Preston said. “But I would hope people would use some common sense and think about air quality when they are and if they are setting off fireworks.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
