Fireworks
consist of "inert" construction particles (shells, sticks, etc. of cardboard,
plastics, wood, etc. are not consumed) and pyrotechnics.
The
desired effects such as luminosity, cracking, etc. are created by pyrotechnical
impulses.
The most
important impulses are:
 |
Black powder (consists
of calium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur) |
|
Fluorescent
impulses.
Colorful effects are reached by adding barium, strontium and copper salts; for
red coloring: strontiumoxalate, carbonate and nitrate, for green coloring:
bariumoxalate, chlorate and nitrate. |
|
Cracking effects
(usually
with a mixture of fine metal powder together with oxidation agents). |
|
Whistling impulses
(chlorate,
perchlorate as well as saults of aromatic acids). The whistling noise is reaches
with oscillation of the let-off. |
|
Additional impulses like smoke contain besides combustible parts vaporising or subliming ingredients. |
Catalytic
and inhibitory agents are also used in order to regulate the actual take-off and
the speed of the impulses and additional agents are used in order to avoid
clotting as well as binding agents and lubricants.
AIR
POLLUTION
Fireworks
release when letting-off the main component black powder and as solid reactory
components calium carbonate, sulfate and sulphide besides not transformed sulfur.
The reactory components of the effect impulses are mainly solid and consist of
metal oxides as well as - though in lesser degrees – of chlorides. Finest dust
powder obtains for a short time top yields. Fireworks with copper content can
release dioxins (Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape SAEFL, essay
"Fireworks").
Fireworks
result in important increase of dust concentration. Dust components due to
fireworks: increased metal contents in the air during legal holidays are due to
fireworks.Their dusts differ in composition remarkably from dusts of other
emissions. Their health risks have only insufficiently been investigated.
(Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape SAEFL, essay "Fireworks")
PM10
(Fine dust)
The
efficacity of the lung is reduced already by small changes in air pollution
concentration: Respiratory ailments correspond directly with pollution of the
air.
More
than a quarter of the total population suffers already from short breath after
bodily efforts. According to the Lungen Liga Schweiz 10% of all children and
about 7% of grown-ups suffer from asthma.
PM10
("Particulate matter smaller than 10 microns") are dust particles smaller
than 10 micrometer (µm).
When
PM10 pollution is heavy we inhale with each breath millions of fine dust
particles. The larger particles (5-10µm) are already filtered out by nose and
pharynx when inhaling; the smaller particles (3-5µm) end up in our trachea, the
2-3µm in the bronchia, in the bronchioles (1-2µm) and in the lung vescicles
(0.1-1µm) – and end up finaly in our blood circulation. The particles can no
longer be coughed up. The deposits lead in the long run and particularly with
already damaged patients to inflammations, in the first line with asthma
patients. But these sedimentary particles stay also with persons in good health
(even when they do not notice any irritation).
Consequences:
Cough, increased infection of the upper and lower respiratory organs, bronchitis,
short breath up to asthma, colds, ailments of the heart-circulation system,
cancer of the lungs, etc.
During days when the fine dust proportion is high, deaths and emergencies accumulate: An increase of the daily cases not due to accidents of around 0.5 to 1.0% (particularly deaths due to pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and heart-circulation illnesses).
An international study on the effects of fine dust particles entering the lungs (PM10) of the population of Switzerland, France and Austria shows: In all three countries up to 6% of all death cases (i.e. for Switzerland 3300 persons) are the results of air pollution. According to this study each year 87'000 asthma attacks in Switzerland go back to fine dust particles entering the lungs, 4200 grown-ups fall ill with a new chronic bronchitis and 45000 children below 15 years of age fall ill each year with chronic bronchitis due to PM10.