Time to Put Kibosh on Kabooms
By Frank Carini / ecoRI News columnist
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| Anton Gudim. |
It was 8:45 Saturday night, nearly two months since the
Fourth of July and more than 24 hours before Labor Day was to be celebrated.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
There was no way I was going to get Sadie and Rosa across
the street for their final nighttime bathroom break. I eventually was able to
get them back in the house, where they quickly hid until long after the bangs
stopped. Sadie shakes uncontrollably and Rosa panics, despite our efforts to
comfort them.
These weren’t just some neighborhood kids setting off
fireworks. Too loud. Too many booms.
(I was later told by a longtime local resident in the know
that the “Empire of Excess,” my phrase and not his, was responsible. I wouldn’t
be surprised if that was the inconsiderate party. The Empire is a sprawling
gated community of mass consumption that is slowly taking over what was once a
modest neighborhood. The coastal playground for the easily bored features
massive second homes, expensive cars, powerboats, a golf course, equestrian
center, swimming pools, tennis courts, and lots of out-of-state license
plates.)
I know there were other dogs in the neighborhood in a
similar state of fright that night; that local wildlife didn’t have a restful
evening; and that noise and air pollution increased, all because humans get a
kick out of blowing things up.
There are healthier ways to be entertained in the summer
that don’t cause stress and anxiety in others. For instance, enjoy a light show
presented by Photinus, Photuris, or Pyractomena — the three main groups
of flashing fireflies, also known as lightning bugs.
Of course, that symphony of light comes with some cost:
you’ll need to stop spraying pesticides all over the place and your yard will
need to have more green than just a lawn.
In Rhode Island, the sale of consumer fireworks — also known
as Class C fireworks — was made legal in 2010, to help retailers and to bring
in more tax revenue, according to that year’s throng of single-issue lawmakers.
Firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets, and other fireworks that contain a
maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material are now sold seasonally in
pop-up stores and under parking lot tents.
(We can easily erect parking lot tents to sell fireworks to
18- and 19-year-olds, but solar carports are beyond our sensible abilities.)
EDITOR'S NOTE: I agree with Frank about amateur, sometimes legal but often illegal, fireworks. They drive our cats nuts and, as Frank notes, they are dangerous. On May 12, 39-year-old David Ziegenfuss of Westerly died after a "Mortar" firework exploded on his head. According to Westerly Police, alcohol was involved. Ziegenfuss' death was ruled an accident.
A GoFundMe site was opened to pay for his "end-of-life expenses."
I agree with Frank that legislation to curb amateur use of fireworks is needed, but to an even greater degree, law enforcement need to enforce the existing law. During the summer, most weekends are filled with rockets and heavy-duty explosive fireworks, often for extended periods - enough time for police to bust the offenders.
It'd be nice if fireworks lovers would remember the value of being good neighbors, but given their choices, that's probably too much to expect. - Will Collette
Display fireworks, also called Class B fireworks, are the ones used in large community displays run by licensed professionals.
Why do we need any of them? Haven’t casinos, sports betting,
and online gambling solved our economic woes?
Fireworks are a fire hazard. They can panic the elderly and
war veterans. They frighten infants, pets, and wildlife. Some scared dogs jump
through window screens or claw at doors as they seek to escape the noise.
Others run off and become lost or hit by cars. Some birds, including bald eagles, abandon their nests.
They cause injury, including some 200 firework-related
injuries annually in Rhode Island, to fingers, hands, face, and eyes. According
to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, between 2008 and 2023
the United States saw an average of nearly 10 deaths a year related to
fireworks. Since 2019, there have been at least 9,700 fireworks-related
injuries annually.
In addition to their physical litter, fireworks, from
sparklers to professional displays, leave behind other waste and release
noxious gases and heavy metals. Cadmium, lithium, copper, and barium, which
give fireworks their colors, have been linked to cancer and respiratory
problems. These chemicals also can contaminate water supplies and recreational
areas.
Large pyrotechnic displays emit a fog of chemicals and
toxins with various levels of health and environmental risks. For
example, perchlorate is a widely used rocket propellant with a
history of finding its way into groundwater. The toxin has been linked to
thyroid irregularities, particularly in women, infants, and children younger
than 12.
A 2008 report concluded that fireworks create potent air
pollution. “Although firework-related recreational pollution episodes are
transient in nature, they are highly concentrated, contribute significantly to
total annual metal emissions, and are on average fine enough to be easily
inhaled and a health risk to susceptible individuals,” according to the study’s
authors.
Health officials say breathing fine particles in firework
smoke increases the probability of health problems such as risk of heart attack
and stroke, lung inflammation, reduced lung function, and asthma attacks.
Past fireworks displays are the probable cause of elevated
concentrations of perchlorate in groundwater and surface water within Mount
Rushmore National Memorial, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Last year the Environmental Protection Agency awarded Texas Tech University $2,499,583 in research
grant funding to study perchlorate contamination from fireworks. This research
is expected to provide a better scientific understanding of perchlorate
contamination and to “determine whether actions may be needed to reduce
exposure via drinking water.”
This is like Rhode Island’s infamous “held for further
study,” except at a grander scale and there will actually be some studying. The
result, however, will be the same: something about banning perchlorate or
fireworks will crash the economy, and those behind the effort to better protect
drinking water supplies and the environment will be called unpatriotic
communists.
Meanwhile, a Fireworks Cookbook webpage sells potassium perchlorate at a guaranteed
lowest price of $7 a pound. “It is essential for creating colorful stars and
flash powder in fireworks compositions.”
We already know fireworks stress some people, panic pets and
wildlife, contribute to three forms of pollution (noise, air, and water), cause
injuries and fires, and rely on fossil fuels.
The need to explode gunpowder composed of potassium nitrate,
sulfur, and charcoal and filled with an assortment of aluminum, iron,
carbonates, chlorides, chlorates, oxalates, nitrates, strontium, copper,
barium, titanium, zirconium, and magnesium is done for one reason: we
constantly need to be entertained.
Some historians believe fireworks originally were developed
in China in the second century B.C. It’s believed these first “firecrackers”
were bamboo stalks that when thrown into a fire would explode because of the
overheating of the hollow air pockets in the bamboo. These ancient Chinese
believed the bang would ward off evil spirits.
Today, thousands of years later, the millions of pounds of fireworks exploded annually in
the United States — at gender reveal parties, at the Super Bowl, after
major-league home runs, in early July, and along the East Passage of
Narragansett Bay on Aug. 31 — are believed to bring economic vitality.
“Fireworks entertainment generates dollars as well as
smiles. Thunder Over Louisville is one of the country’s
largest fireworks displays and an economic study conducted by the Derby
Festival determined that Thunder generates more than $56 million for the local
economy,” according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.
As is normally the case (see fuels, fossil), other
associated impacts that don’t make a profit, such as the health costs borne by
the public and the natural world, are conveniently ignored.
Human entertainment now streams 24/7, so let’s blow up our
addiction to fireworks. Our four-legged friends and our national bird will
appreciate the gesture.
