Now that public gatherings are happening once more it is no surprise that people are excited to get out there and see amazing displays of showmanship. With the summer approaching many people are looking forward to festivals and all the days such as the 4th of July to witness amazing fireworks shows. This brings up of course the fact that many cities have decided to move away from fireworks shows towards more environmentally friendly light shows consisting of drones and digital lighting. So, are digital fireworks alternatives reducing potential health risks? Let’s get into it and see for ourselves.
Fireworks have always been a staple of festivals and national holidays worldwide. Still, little is known by the public about the negative impacts they can have on your health or the environment surrounding them. For many people, the exploration of digital fireworks in drone shows has not been satisfying. For many, the issue with drone shows is that they allow for direct in-sky advertising and are considered light pollution. The fear mostly comes from the idea of a dystopian vision of advertising directly in the night sky in which we are unable to see the stars anymore. The reality of course is more complex and does not reduce the risks caused by normal traditional fireworks.
One of the main risks of course when it comes to fireworks is the potential for fires. While pyro technicians who work with fireworks are well-trained and know how to safely handle their explosives there is always room for accidents. Considering the residue produced by fireworks can be carried by the wind it is no surprise that many worry that fireworks can cause forest fires and other various fires. The risk of firework caused house fires is of course never zero unlike with digital fireworks. The issue is brought up more recently because climate changes are causing dry heat in places such as Australia or California. Sometimes it only takes a single spark to start a violent brush fire that will rage for weeks so it is important to take as many precautions as possible.
One of the lesser-known issues that comes with firework use is of course the increase in damage to your lungs. The smoke and some chemicals produced by fireworks can aggravate situations in which you have already difficult respiratory diseases. These reflections of course come at the tail end of our bout with covid 19 which is still causing a lot of issues in our society despite the lifting of most precautions by governments around the world. Where are you suffering from lung COVID acute bronchitis or asthma if those conditions worsen you could see problems arise that could cause you to decline rapidly. In some studies, they have noticed that short-term exposure to true inhalation of fireworks mode can increase the risks of heart failure or irregular heartbeat.
Well fireworks in themselves are not the worst pollutant around the smoke created by their use is of course bad for the environment. The smoke is bad on 2 levels of course it is bad as it is releasing more CO2 into the air. The second and bigger issue comes from the fact that unexploded fireworks release a lot of toxic material including metals that are necessary for detonation and oftentimes for the coloring of the lights created by the fireworks themselves. They make for pretty light shows but they have a lot of issues associated with them and for many, they are considered part of the past.
As you can see traditional fireworks come with a lot of baggage and issues that we need to add on and decide if they truly are worth it just to get a pretty light show. Not only are digital fireworks safer for your health but they are also safer for the environment as they prevent pollution and potential fire hazard. Since we mentioned the 4th of July we should also mention that fireworks often are causing stress for many people suffering from PTSD or have sensibilities too loud noises. In a society where we wish to accommodate as many people as possible and make people feel safe in their own homes it could be a potentially beneficial change to quality of life all around the world to bring in did you love fireworks to replace our traditional light shows. No need that digital light shows also allow for a larger variety of displays and even create moving images in the sky that will truly give you an impressive display and are a natural progression of where fireworks of taken us in the past. It might be scary at first as no one likes change but digital fire shows are here and they are here to stay.
