Effect of fireworks events on urban background trace metal aerosol concentrations: Is the cocktail worth the show?

Abstract

We report on the effect of a major firework event on urban background atmospheric PM(2.5) chemistry, using 24-h data collected over 8 weeks at two sites in Girona, Spain. The firework pollution episode (Sant Joan fiesta on 23rd June 2008) measured in city centre parkland increased local background PM(2.5) concentrations as follows: Sr (x86), K (x26), Ba (x11), Co (x9), Pb (x7), Cu (x5), Zn (x4), Bi (x4), Mg (x4), Rb (x4), Sb (x3), P (x3), Ga (x2), Mn (x2), As (x2), Ti (x2) and SO(4)(2-) (x2). Marked increases in these elements were also measured outside the park as the pollution cloud drifted over the city centre, and levels of some metals remained elevated above background for days after the event as a reservoir of metalliferous dust persisted within the urban area. Transient high-PM pollution episodes are a proven health hazard, made worse in the case of firework combustion because many of the elements released are both toxic and finely respirable, and because displays commonly take place in an already polluted urban atmosphere.

High-time resolution and size-segregated elemental composition in high-intensity pyrotechnic exposures

“…The background concentration refers to the measurements carried out along the week in periods when mascletà peaks did not take place and should represent the city "normal" concentrations. The concentrations we found are higher than those found in other studies [4,10,17] and for many elements similar to the ones found by Kuhlteshta et al and Sarkar et al for Diwali festival [6,18] and Wang et al for Lantern Festival [5] (our data were averaged in the same time scales used in the cited article).…”

“…Barium and strontium salts are used as colour agents, imparting a red or green colour, respectively, to firework displays. They are also important for stabilising fireworks and barium nitrates or chlorates as oxidiser too [4,10]. Sr and Ba, elements with still lower background concentrations (<10 ng/m 3 ), reached concentration peaks during mascletàs up to 16 and 10 g/m 3 in the fine fraction, respectively, and about 1.5 g/m 3 in the coarse fraction.…”

“…As a general conclusion, firework displays give rise to large (up to hundreds of g/m 3 ) but transitory (up to hours or days) increases of urban atmospheric particulate matter mean levels, especially metalliferous particles (K, Mg, Ba, Cu, Sr, Al, Pb) [4]. For example, in the Indian Diwali festival, 24 h-average concentration of PM 10 increased up to 5.7 times with respect to a normal day [7,8]; during the Lantern festival in China the rise of PM 2.5 was over 6 times the usual daily level [9]; in the Summer solstice feast in Girona (Spain) PM 2.5 daily local background doubled, from 13 g/m 3 to 25 g/m 3 , multiplying by a factor ranging from 2 to 86 the concentrations of metals and metalloids typically emitted from fireworks [10].…”

Ambient PM2.5, Black Carbon, and Particle Size-Resolved Number Concentrations and the Ångström Exponent Value of Aerosols during the Firework Display at the Lantern Festival in Southern Taiwan

“…The BC concentration was only 1.8% of the PM 2.5 concentration during the episode period, and the BC/PM 2.5 ratio was 5.5% in the nonepisode period. Past results have indicated that a relatively large amount of other compounds exist in the aerosols produced by a firework display (Wang et al, 2007;Moreno et al, 2010;Chang et al, 2011;Lin et al, 2014). For example, Chang et al (2011) and Lin et al (2014) found that the aerosols produced were remarkably high in Cl -, K + , and Mg 2+ ions compared with the background aerosols.…”

“…For example, Chang et al (2011) and Lin et al (2014) found that the aerosols produced were remarkably high in Cl -, K + , and Mg 2+ ions compared with the background aerosols. Wang et al (2007) and Moreno et al (2010) demonstrated that concentrations of elements such as Sr, Mg, K, Ba, and Cu were far greater in airborne dust during firework episodes. The presence of these highly toxic metals was related to the materials used in the fireworks.…”