The effect of a fireworks event on the amount and elemental concentration of deposited dust collected in the city of Debrecen, Hungary.

Edina Baranyai,Béla Tóthmérész,József Posta,István Fábián,Mihály Braun,Edina Simon

doi:10.1007/s11869-014-0290-7

Edina Baranyai, Béla Tóthmérész + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0290-7

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Abstract

Many social celebrations in urban areas are followed by fireworks show. The organic and inorganic pollutants emitted during detonations are expected to affect the ambient air quality of these celebration sites. The environmental aspects of fireworks events are usually investigated by analyzing the concentration and composition of airborne particulate matter, while there is limited information regarding the effect of fireworks on the elemental concentration of deposited dust. In this study, foliage dust samples were collected in the city of Debrecen (Hungary) before and after the fireworks show, organized on the 20th of August for the celebration of a historical event. Leaf samples (Tilia tomentosa) were collected around the location of the area of festivities. The sampling sites were further divided into five areas: city center (center), Southeast (SE), Southwest (SW), Northeast (NE), and Northwest (NW). We found that the amount of deposited dust particles increased significantly after the fireworks show compared to the background; we also found significant differences in the amount of dust deposition between the different locations of the city. A statistically higher level of Ca, Mg, and Sr was detected in samples collected after the display compared to those collected during the previous days, while the concentration of other studied elements were not statistically different from the background level. Our study confirmed previous findings that the relatively high altitude of detonations allows chemicals to disperse in the fine and ultrafine aerosol fractions; thus, the emitted pollutants by fireworks shows do not increase the level of elements as markedly in deposited dust as in the inhalable fraction.

Highlights

Explosive pyrotechnic devices are widely used for celebrating specific events causing an unusual environmental effect on the ambient air quality (Vecchi et al 2008)
It was found by Kulshrestha et al (2004) that the concentration of Ba, K, Al, and Sr significantly increased during the fireworks of Diwali festival (India) compared to the background values registered on the previous days
The foliage dust significantly increased based on the general linear model (GLM) results after the fireworks event in all studied areas except the Southwestern (SW) region of

Summary

Introduction

Explosive pyrotechnic devices are widely used for celebrating specific events causing an unusual environmental effect on the ambient air quality (Vecchi et al 2008) They are most frequently used in the already polluted urban areas (Kulshrestha et al 2004), emitting additional amount of metal particles, gases, and various organic compounds which can cause a temporary decrease in air quality (Ravindra et al 2003). It was demonstrated that the particulate matter generated by these shows contain Sr, K, V, Ti, Ba, Cu, Pb, Mg, Al, S, Mn, and Zn as major components (Perry 1999) It was found by Kulshrestha et al (2004) that the concentration of Ba, K, Al, and Sr significantly increased during the fireworks of Diwali festival (India) compared to the background values registered on the previous days.

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