My petition to the Sequim City Council to ban fireworks. The original outline is here. Edited version for presentation and a strange follow-up to an email question by the City Mayor, I would present this later version to the Sequim City Council knowing the original was too long.  With 30 seconds remaining I was silenced by the same mayor. I will now focus on Politics and getting these people replaced. They did not even pass out the folders I had given them, nor did they bother to open them.

1. Why Celebrate July 4 by Polluting?
2. My focus will be on the toxic and hazardous metals found in fireworks. Potassium Perchlorate link to a Snohomish county report.  [pg. 15)
3. Many of the compounds are quite toxic before ignition (for example perchlorate is an iodine mimic). Barium, copper and arsenic are pretty toxic too. Usually fireworks don’t list what they contain, so you might expose yourself to toxic things without knowing it.

Toxic Metals Provide the Color

“Roman candles and yes even those so-called “harmless” sparklers)… pose aserious environmental and health danger from heavy metals and other toxic firework fallout. So the next time you are about to set off or buy some cheap fireworks or even attend an outdoor fireworks display, ask yourself……. Is a few minutes of pyrotechnic entertainment really worth needlessly polluting the environment.”

• Avoid Chinese made fireworks because of their pattern of using banned or more toxic chemicals without regard for the safety of the rest of the world.

 Newspaper mention has been made about the lack of response by local law enforcement. Myself included. I would amend that: The paperwork that the Sheriff dept. goes through with limited cars and officers leave him at the mercy of local officials who hear only the negative comments. Less mentioned is that it is the same officials that do not give them the funds to adequately cover the immense area they are asked to protect. In P.A. we have a special bond issue coming that WILL raise your taxes, but allow the fire district to provide coverage to rural areas that may end up with no coverage at all. It is all OUR collective fault, City, County and the reluctant taxpayer. Throw in a judicial system that demands paperwork beyond belief.

6. Back to my presentation on toxicity. . I do not have asthma, emphysema and so far am not on oxygen, but some in this community are. We are affecting their lives, and continue their terror of this day every year.
   

I have tried to present an hours presentation of reasons for a ban in 3 minutes. That is an impossible task. I hope the council will look over the folders I have presented and see what other communities have done. I pray we have the wisdom to do the same.

hexachlorobenzene Found by European investigators wondering howlarge quantities of the fireworks the companies have been imported and sold. EPA, CUSTOMS. ????

Antimony sulfide After antimony enters your blood, it goes to many parts of your body (liver, lungs, intestines, and spleen). The intake from breathing air is generally a small fraction from ingestion. Ingestion/oral exposure may occur when an individual eats or drink s food or water containing antimony. Cardiosvascular, Gastrointestinal, Ocular and Reproductive problems can occur. (increased risk of abortions being one.) Some fisherman have noticed and reported to environmental authorities that firework residues can hurt fish and other water life.

Barium Nitrate

Some of the symptoms of poisoning incude: Skin irritation Eye irritation Respiratory system irritation Sore throat Shortness of breath

Copper compounds produce brilliant blues.  When combined with perchlorate, dioxins are produced, which are highly carcinogenic.

Patriotic – fun – or toxic thrills?

Lead Dioxide / Nitrate / Chloride – another link

sulfur dioxide

Another found that exposure to sulfur dioxide, a main component in fireworks, has been related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as well. Click here to find out how fireworks can raise your child’s risk of SIDS.

perchlorate’s

The primary toxicity issue is associated with disruption of iodide uptake in the thyroid gland due to its similarity in ionic radius to iodide. Widespread presence of perchlorate in drinking water aquifers and its toxicological properties make perchlorate an emerging chemical of cancer (thyroid)

“Is poisoning the air and water a patriotic way to recognize the 4th of July?”

If you shoot off a lot of fireworks in your back yard, you are getting overexposed to toxins. That is your judgment call I suppose, but you do not have the right to poison your neighbors, elderly infants and children and the wildlife that has no voice at all

“Take a stand against Fireworks

• Write, call, or meet your local officials and tell them your concerns about outdoor air pollution and noise pollution from fireworks.
• The Clean Air Act permits governments to enact laws relating to the prevention and control of outdoor air pollution.
• Pollutants discharged by fireworks also need to be regulated in accordance with the Clean Water Act. Recently some environmental groups have caused the cancellation of some fireworks shows held over water, after threatening organizers with a Clean Water Act lawsuit for lacking the appropriate permits.
• Boycott outdoor fireworks displays and encourage others to do the same.
• Educate others by sharing the pollution dangers of fireworks.”
  

Looks like 3-5 minutes 🙁