Is Bonfire Night a Pollution Nightmare?

Remember, remember the fifth of November… but perhaps not just for the treasonous gunpowder plot of Guy Fawkes. The celebration of Fawkes’ failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament is an annual occurrence across the UK – but the spectacle could be having a disastrous effect on our environment.

With climate change and the need to bring our carbon footprint under control a higher priority than ever before, industrial power plants all over the world have been forced to regulate their emissions in keeping with the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), implemented in 2013. Ironically, the very emissions that directive seeks to control may be being released in large quantities during Bonfire Night.

A cocktail of contaminants

The chemical makeup of fireworks is a complicated and potentially toxic one. In order to achieve the desired colouration of the pyrotechnics, they must contain different metal particles. For example, red fireworks use lithium or strontium, blue fireworks utilise copper elements while barium provides the brighter hues in white or brilliant green fireworks.

What’s more, other metals are used in making them function effectively. In order to achieve enough propulsion and acceleration from the ground, the fireworks contain aluminium, potassium and toxic organic compounds. Additionally, the sparkling, crackling effect synonymous with so many pyrotechnics is only achievable through the inclusion of antimony, lead and titanium particles.

While the fireworks themselves may be fleeting, the smoke which follows still contains many of these contaminants and can hover in the atmosphere for days. Ironically, these very same pollutants are emitted by power plants and are known to have detrimental effects on ambient non-methane hydrocarbons in residential areas, as well as contributing to poor air quality in general. For this reason their emissions are heavily regulated in industry.

Breathing easy in 2016

Fortunately, the toxic smoke clouds did not linger over the UK for long this year. Strong winds and scattered showers helped to dissipate the contaminants quickly and efficiently, though the same cannot always be said.

In 2014, several regions of the UK (including Manchester, Merseyside, the West Midlands and Yorkshire) suffered prolonged exposure to contaminated air in the wake of Bonfire Night, with the UK Air Pollution Index (API) measuring pollution at the maximum level of 10. This year, levels only reached heights of 4 (in Swansea) and the traditionally raucous Bonfire Night celebrations in East Lewes did not produce exorbitant levels of pollution, either.

Of course, not everywhere has enjoyed such air quality in 2016 after similar celebrations. The Indian capital of New Delhi has been in the headlines recently for the blanket of smog that has descended upon the city for the last few weeks. Though Delhi always suffers from poor air quality, the situation has been exacerbated by the Hindu festival of lights Diwali. Like Bonfire Night, Diwali is also celebrated with the release of countless fireworks all over the country.