Heavy metals produce the dazzling colors in fireworks. But they also contribute to a spike in air pollution during the summer

PROVO, Utah ( ABC4 ) — Fireworks season is underway, and many colorful celebrations are slated this week across the Wasatch Front. But as a new study highlights, the heavy metals that make the vibrant colors — particularly the blues and green — are lingering in the firework smoke, posing health concerns.

Greg Carling, a geology professor at Brigham Young University , said that Wasatch Front sees “really sharp spikes” in air pollution each July, when Utahns not only celebrate Indepdence Day but also Pioneer Day. Fireworks displays are staples for both summer holidays.

Over the last two years, Carling has led a team of students in monitoring air pollution in Provo and Salt Lake City. While fireworks displays have been known to produce fine particulate pollution, it wasn’t previously known what trace metals appear in the smoke produced by all the explosions.

Using filtering technology, Carling and his team found that along the Wasatch Front there’s high levels of copper and barium linked to fireworks. Their findings were published earlier this year in Applied Geochemistry . In comparision, high levels of arsenic, lead and thallium were found druing winter inversions.

“Even though we have so many sources of pollution along the Wasatch Front, we still see these fireworks jumping out as being a pretty important source of pollution,” Carling said.

‘Almost no avoiding it’

Heavy metals provide the colors in fireworks. According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality , barium procudes greens while copper burns blue. Lithium and strontium create vivid reds, and alunminum bursts into bright whites.

Trace metal exposure from a single fireworks display is unlikely to cause lasting health effects, but repeated exposure can be “problematic,” the Environmental Quality officials said. They noted that the trace metals linger in the local ecosystem, making their way into the soil, water and even crops.

“There’s almost no avoiding it,” Carling said. “You can avoid the worst of it by not being directly downwind of firework smoke, but it pretty much gets spread around.”

The Department of Environmental Quality said that the short-term spike in particulate air pollution linked to fireworks can cause asthma attacks, aggravate lung disease, and lead to acute bronchities. For people with heart disease, short-term exposure can be linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias.

Officials recommend that young children, the elderly and individuals with heart or lung disease avoid areas close to fireworks displays. Instead, they are advised to view the explosions from a safe distance, so as to minimize the exposure to the smoke.

“Those who are particularly sensitive may want to stay indoors, especially during the evening, and close the windows so that indoor air is not affected,” the department said in a statement.

Rethinking fireworks

Some major cities concerned about air pollution (and the possibility of starting wildfires) have switched from fireworks to drone displays, in which several drones with LED lights fly in coordination to produce shapes and images in the night sky.

Salt Lake City is among the cities that have traded fireworks for drones. Utah’s capital held its first drone display last year on the Fourth of July, and this year’s Independence Day drone spectacle is set for Friday at Jordan Park.

“They’re not fireworks,” Carling said. “But they are also entertaining and don’t produce the smoke.”

Park City and Millcreek are two other cities that will have drone shows this summer.

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