Some publications on this topic:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2003/em/b211943a/unauth
Article The air pollution during Diwali festival by the burning of f...
Article Fireworks pollution and health
Dear Prof. Alwielland Q. Bello
Fireworks are made of various chemicals packed into an aerial shell along with the explosives. The main ingredients are the black powder consisting of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate and is needed for the firework to fly up and blow up as well as the color of the firework, for instance, lithium and strontium producing red, copper and chlorine giving blue, sodium and sodium chloride making yellow, and barium and chlorine delivering green.
During each explosion, these chemicals are spread in the air that we breathe. Fireworks explode high in the sky, which also means that they are susceptible to blows of wind. As a result, firework pollutants can travel with atmospheric wind currents even for miles or stay in the air for even 5-6 hours after the event/occasion, depending on the weather conditions.
When fireworks are set off, chemicals used in their composition react to ignite and propel the explosives with a resultant noticeable and odorous cloud of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Inhalation of such particles is one of the most important routes of exposure to elevated concentrations of these emissions.
The impact of fireworks on human health has been reported in the literature and has been attributed to the large number of chemical components that have been used during the manufacture of these fireworks.
Despite particulate matter components having widely different physicochemical properties, they may induce similar cellular responses with a range of sensitivities to pollutants across different “at risk” groups, particularly patients suffering from lung and heart diseases, namely asthma and COPD in the former group. The individuals’ sensitivity to pollution is said to be related to their pulmonary antioxidant defenses. Effects of fine particles on human health will depend on the size, shape, number, and mass concentration together with chemical composition.
Children seem to be particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of ambient air pollution. Compared with adults, children have poor defenses against particulate matter and gaseous air pollutants, have a differential ability to metabolize and detoxify environmental agents, and have an airway epithelium that is more permeable to inhaled air pollutants. Also, children have a greater level of physical activity than adults; hence, their intake of air into the lungs is much greater than that of adults per day.
Regards,
Malcolm Nobre
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