Bernadette Tansey, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 3, 2008
All of us are looking forward to the annual July Fourth fireworks, with their glittering starbursts of red, blue and green.
But chemists are actually trying to make our annual fireworks extravaganzas much greener. A big fireworks show can release poisonous chemicals over land and water, they say, with effects on people and wildlife that have not been fully evaluated.
"Fireworks, though spectacular and entertaining, are a source of concern because of environmental pollution," concluded two university scientists in Germany, Georg Steinhauser and Thomas Klapotke, in a recent review of efforts to produce less toxic pyrotechnics. People who raise concerns about toxins in fireworks, however, risk being branded as fanatical killjoys - even in environmentally conscious California. Bruce Reznik, executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper, said the group was treated like it was "stealing Christmas and apple pie" when it pressed state agencies to assess the environmental impact of year-round fireworks shows at the popular SeaWorld San Diego theme park.
"We took a lot of heat," Reznik said. A similar furor arose when the California Coastal Commission barred Gualala from holding a July Fourth fireworks display this year at a site where the noise might frighten seabirds away from their nests. Fireworks are fiercely defended as symbols of every innocent cause for celebration, from romance to national pride.
"You all are the nanny state," said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, a trade group for fireworks businesses. "How much more can we impose on our freedoms?"
However, no less patriotic an institution than the U.S. military is seeking more eco-friendly pyrotechnics. The same environmental concerns are common to both fireworks and military equipment such as signaling flares and airborne weapons. Defense agencies are financing research by scientists including Steinhauser and Klapotke in Munich and explosives experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Among the concerns is the cumulative contamination of military testing grounds and training sites.
As the science advances, a fledgling "green pyrotechnics" industry has also sprung up to serve big entertainment businesses such as Disneyland Park in Anaheim, where neighbors' complaints about smoke from frequent fireworks shows prompted the Walt Disney Company to redesign its displays. So far, the market for the expensive new technology is confined to big show-business concerns that put on indoor concerts or wrestling matches where air quality is particularly important, said Darren Naud, a former Los Alamos lab explosives expert who co-founded a company called DMD Systems to serve Disney and other clients.
Naud said the greener fireworks won't achieve a broader consumer market unless regulators tighten restrictions. "If the regulations are not there, people will continue to buy the cheaper stuff," he said.
What worries chemists about conventional fireworks are three kinds of compounds. Flaming combustible elements give off smoky gases and fine particles that might penetrate the lungs. Metals such as barium and strontium add colors to the glittering flames. A third ingredient, perchlorate, promotes burning and supplies chlorine to heighten color. Perchlorate seeps readily through groundwater and is linked to malfunctions of the thyroid and birth defects.
Exploding this mixture of chemicals together may yield new compounds carrying health risks, including dioxins and other powerful cancer-causing substances, Steinhauser and Klapotke said in their February review article in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie. Poisonous barium compounds can affect the heart and lungs, they said. But few studies have looked at whether the fallout from fireworks leaves harmful concentrations of toxins.
The trade group for fireworks businesses, the American Pyrotechnics Association, maintains that audiences attending the local July Fourth fireworks show have nothing to worry about. "Most communities have a few shows maybe once a year," said Heckman, the group's executive director. Heckman said most fireworks ingredients are consumed in the explosion and quickly dissipate. "The level of contamination is going to be nonexistent, or nominal."
Steinhauser and Klapotke found studies suggesting that fireworks ingredients can cause human health impacts when people undergo intense exposure. One paper noted an increase in asthma during the Indian Diwali festival of lights, and others reported diseases of the lungs, kidneys and other organs among overseas fireworks manufacturing workers.
The vast majority of fireworks used in the United States are imported from China. Many U.S. regulatory agencies oversee the fireworks industry, but they focus on making sure the products can be shipped without exploding and used without blowing off any fingers. In recent years, however, health and environmental concerns have surfaced in California where fireworks are intensively used or were manufactured.
In 2002, the city of Rialto and nearby towns shut down 22 wells contaminated by groundwater plumes of perchlorate spreading from two sites where fireworks and other products had been manufactured decades ago.
In December, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board required SeaWorld to monitor levels of perchlorate and 40 other components of fireworks in Mission Bay, the aquatic inlet where SeaWorld can hold 150 fireworks shows a year. That permit requirement - the first in the nation - was a victory for San Diego Coastkeeper, which had urged state agencies for years to evaluate the environmental impact of repeated pyrotechnic displays.
"We're not saying nobody should have fireworks," said Reznik. "We're saying let's look at them and see if there's any impact, and if there is maybe they can be changed and be more environmentally friendly."
So far, no danger signs of fireworks-related pollution have turned up in monitoring tests of San Francisco Bay, said Dyan Whyte, assistant executive officer at the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board.
"If it doesn't look like a problem, we don't need to be out there ruining people's Fourth of July," she said. But the water agency will evaluate SeaWorld's studies, and keep an eye on the issue, she said. "This may be one that we need to take a closer look at, at some point."
Friday, July 4, 2008
Too Hot To Handle?
New safety concerns over Chinese-made fireworks.
Caitlin McDevitt
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 1:46 PM ET Jul 3, 2008
Last summer, it was Chinese-made toys, pet food and meat that caused concern. This July 4th holiday, there are new worries about the overly explosive nature of its fireworks. This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report saying it found that nearly half of the shipments they inspected coming from China do not meet Federal safety guidelines. That's especially worrying since, according the American Pyrotechnic Association, 98 percent of fireworks used in backyards and front lawns across America are manufactured in China. NEWSWEEK's Caitlin McDevitt spoke with Scott Wolfson, a chief spokesman for the Commission about its findings and why this Independence Day could be more volatile than in previous years.
In the Commission's test of 400 Chinese shipments, 46 percent of were found to be non-compliant. That seems quite high. What were some common violations?
Wolfson: There are very strict mandatory standards for how much flash powder can be in consumer fireworks. Flash powder is the main ingredient that gives it its explosive nature. We often look for those that are over-packed. There are also standards that deal with stability. The fuse length also has to meet a standard, and there has to be certain labeling.
What's allowable under Federal standards?
Under Federal standards for legal consumer fireworks, there should only be 50 mg of flash powder or less in firecrackers, which stay on the ground and can produce a snake like effect. Aerial fireworks must contain 130 mg or less.
Some of the fireworks you found head for the consumer market was actually commercial grade, meaning they were more explosive and volatile. How are such fireworks ending up in the hands of consumers?
The CPSC has seen unscrupulous sellers willing to provide professional fireworks to consumers. It is actually a felony to sell professional fireworks to a person who does not have the appropriate license. It is also a felony to buy professional grade fireworks without a license.
Are there particular brands or kinds of fireworks that consumers should be wary of?
Anytime a product proves to be volatile the CPSC seeks to remove that product from the marketplace. The CPSC strongly encourages consumers to only use consumer grade fireworks and to use them as intended and directed.
What should people do if they suspect they may have such fireworks?
Consumers should only purchase fireworks from an approved source. They should look for fireworks with brightly colored wrapping, that has the clear and legible name of the product and only buy products out the front door - Consumers should avoid buying products in plain wrapping with no identifiable marking and being sold out the back door.
What, if anything, happens to an offending manufacturer?
We cannot hold a Chinese company accountable, [but] CPSC can hold the importer or distributor accountable. If the product violates federal law and makes its way into the marketplace, then a company can be held liable if they fail to report to CPSC in a timely manner.
What happens to illegal fireworks that the CPSC discovers?
They tend to be destroyed by ATF or Customs.
What's the CPSC doing to ensure the safety of next year's fireworks?
The CPSC inspects and tests consumer fireworks all year.
Caitlin McDevitt
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 1:46 PM ET Jul 3, 2008
Last summer, it was Chinese-made toys, pet food and meat that caused concern. This July 4th holiday, there are new worries about the overly explosive nature of its fireworks. This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report saying it found that nearly half of the shipments they inspected coming from China do not meet Federal safety guidelines. That's especially worrying since, according the American Pyrotechnic Association, 98 percent of fireworks used in backyards and front lawns across America are manufactured in China. NEWSWEEK's Caitlin McDevitt spoke with Scott Wolfson, a chief spokesman for the Commission about its findings and why this Independence Day could be more volatile than in previous years.
In the Commission's test of 400 Chinese shipments, 46 percent of were found to be non-compliant. That seems quite high. What were some common violations?
Wolfson: There are very strict mandatory standards for how much flash powder can be in consumer fireworks. Flash powder is the main ingredient that gives it its explosive nature. We often look for those that are over-packed. There are also standards that deal with stability. The fuse length also has to meet a standard, and there has to be certain labeling.
What's allowable under Federal standards?
Under Federal standards for legal consumer fireworks, there should only be 50 mg of flash powder or less in firecrackers, which stay on the ground and can produce a snake like effect. Aerial fireworks must contain 130 mg or less.
Some of the fireworks you found head for the consumer market was actually commercial grade, meaning they were more explosive and volatile. How are such fireworks ending up in the hands of consumers?
The CPSC has seen unscrupulous sellers willing to provide professional fireworks to consumers. It is actually a felony to sell professional fireworks to a person who does not have the appropriate license. It is also a felony to buy professional grade fireworks without a license.
Are there particular brands or kinds of fireworks that consumers should be wary of?
Anytime a product proves to be volatile the CPSC seeks to remove that product from the marketplace. The CPSC strongly encourages consumers to only use consumer grade fireworks and to use them as intended and directed.
What should people do if they suspect they may have such fireworks?
Consumers should only purchase fireworks from an approved source. They should look for fireworks with brightly colored wrapping, that has the clear and legible name of the product and only buy products out the front door - Consumers should avoid buying products in plain wrapping with no identifiable marking and being sold out the back door.
What, if anything, happens to an offending manufacturer?
We cannot hold a Chinese company accountable, [but] CPSC can hold the importer or distributor accountable. If the product violates federal law and makes its way into the marketplace, then a company can be held liable if they fail to report to CPSC in a timely manner.
What happens to illegal fireworks that the CPSC discovers?
They tend to be destroyed by ATF or Customs.
What's the CPSC doing to ensure the safety of next year's fireworks?
The CPSC inspects and tests consumer fireworks all year.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Oooooh, Canada
A French entry opened the Montreal international fireworks competition this year. © Yannick Grandmont for The New York Times
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
The New York Times
Published: June 27, 2008
LATE last Saturday evening, La Ronde, an amusement park that’s just a stone’s throw from downtown Montreal on an island in the St. Lawrence River, seemed an unlikely venue for a world-class competition. Teenagers with the giggles and other signs of roller-coaster overexposure contemplated yet another ride on the Super Manège or Le Monstre. Younger children, slowed by too much barbe à papa (cotton candy) and poutine (that Québécois concoction of French fries, cheese curds and gravy), were willed along by weary parents. The occasional large Fred Flintstone or Scooby-Doo plush doll appeared among the midway crowd, bounty from booths like Frappez la Taupe (Whack the Mole) and Roulé-Boulé (a form of skeeball).
GENERATIONS Some families haven’t missed any of the shows for years.
But just a few feet away at La Ronde’s small lake, before a grandstand filled with about 5,000 people, with thousands more waiting in anticipation elsewhere in the park, along the riverbanks and on a nearby highway bridge that had been closed to traffic for the occasion, a tuxedoed master of ceremonies introduced Fabrice Chouillier, a French pyrotechnician, and his team. The 24th International des Feux Loto-Québec, the international fireworks competition that runs for two months every summer in Montreal and draws millions of viewers, was about to begin.
Mr. Chouillier, whose company, Prestatech-Artifices, is the first of nine competitors this year, walked through the crowd to a control booth at the top of the grandstand, ready to start his computer-controlled extravaganza, built around the theme of space exploration and synchronized with orchestral passages from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and other works. He’d designed the 30-minute show at his office near Paris, had shipped thousands of shells and other fireworks across the Atlantic, and had been preparing them the last five days at a series of bunkers and platforms in an off-limits section of the park.
Across the lake, the lights on the park’s Ferris wheel flickered off. Among the crowd, the hawkers selling beer and blinking devil’s horns grew silent. As the opening strains of “The Blue Danube” waltz filled the air, a series of pyrotechnic strobes went off on the far side of the lake. The Strauss faded out, replaced by the “10...9...8” of an Apollo-era countdown, each number embellished by a comet, a shell that leaves a glittering trail in its wake. At zero, a line of fountains started spewing fire, and a loud rumbling began. It was as if the whole lake was about to lift off.
For the public, the competition is a chance to see 10 grand pyromusical displays — including a noncompeting show that closes the festivities — throughout the summer. In a city known for its festivals, the fireworks are exclamation marks that punctuate many Saturday nights, and a few Wednesday nights as well. Officials at La Ronde, which was built for the 1967 World’s Fair and is now owned by Six Flags, estimate that last year more than three million people watched the displays.
A jury of 19, chosen from the public, evaluates each performance and at the end awards golden, silver and bronze trophies to the top three. There’s no prize money, but that doesn’t really matter: for Mr. Chouillier and the other pyrotechnicians, just being invited to participate in the competition, generally regarded as the industry’s most prestigious, is an honor.
“It’s a sort of consecration in the life of a fireworks artist,” Mr. Chouillier said last Friday as his team, aided by La Ronde’s own crew, loaded aerial shells up to a foot in diameter into firing tubes.
Or as Stephen Vitale, president of Pyrotecnico, the American entrant in the event this year, put it, “It’s like the Olympics for us.”
It’s also a chance for these companies to design a show just for themselves, rather than carrying out some client’s vision. “What’s great about this competition is you have total freedom,” Mr. Chouillier said.
OF the hundreds of thousands of people who see each show, only a fraction are paying customers in the park. Many are like Marcel Gareau, a construction worker who with his family had driven from the suburbs and was installed in a lawn chair on the Montreal side of the St. Lawrence a full five hours before the fireworks began. The Gareaus have hardly missed a show in a dozen years, watching over the trees and listening to the soundtrack on their car radio.
They’ve seen the work of some of the best fireworks companies worldwide — from China, Australia, Italy, Portugal and elsewhere — but Mr. Gareau has a clear favorite. “The Americans,” he said. “They make the most noise.”
The competitors and the jury like a good racket as much as anyone, but for them the shows are more about conveying emotion through kamuro shells, go-getters, tourbillons, Chinese cakes and other pyrotechnic effects, all intricately synchronized with the music.
You have to have a lot of emotion to think about the soundtrack and the colors and everything,” said Martyne Gagnon, who has directed the competition since 1998 and is herself a licensed pyrotechnician. “It comes from the heart.”
Ms. Gagnon is in charge of choosing the competitors, and she keeps tabs on possible candidates within the small community of professional fireworks companies. She almost always invites teams from Canada, the United States and Australia, a couple from among Europe’s big three — France, Italy and Spain — and usually another European team or two. She tries for one from Asia, and this year she got two, from South Korea and China. Competitors are given a fixed amount of money for materials, but some pay for extra shells and effects out of their own pockets — which may be one reason the Americans make the most noise.
The jurors get a day of training in the science and art of pyrotechnics. Magalie Pilon, a doctoral student in physiology who was among those chosen for the jury from 550 applicants this year, was taking the job seriously. “This is a big party here,” she said as dance music thumped in the grandstands a few hours before the show. “But we have to concentrate because it’s important.”
“But if they wanted a professional jury they would have asked for it,” she said. “As a member of the public, I know I’m good.”
That confidence comes from having seen almost every display for the last six years. But she used to watch from the bridge, where her family had a special spot each week. As a jury member, she now has a prime seat for every show for herself — and for one guest.
“Let’s just say that now I am very popular,” she said. “I could ask for anything. Maybe I’ll ask for somebody to wash my car.”
THE grandstands offer certain advantages over the view from the bridge or the riverbanks. Many of the low effects can’t be seen from far off. And the shows are designed to look best from straight on.
Mr. Chouillier used plenty of low effects, starting with the fountains that, accompanied by the rumble of a rocket engine, seemed to simulate the launching of a Saturn V. Then it was on to “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” with exploding mines and other effects piercing the sky, choreographed to the piece’s famous kettledrum passages.
The “Star Trek” theme followed, with glittering showers of tiny stars looking for all the world like what Captain Kirk disintegrates into when Scotty beams him up.
There were brilliant flashes, head-throbbing bangs, huge groups of flares in red and green, chrysanthemums in red, white and yellow and, during passages from “Mars, the Bringer of War” by Gustav Holst, dozens of small green flares that seemed to dance on the water like little green men. More comets crisscrossed the sky in perfect time with the music. And at 30 minutes the whole thing ended in a barrage of pale gold-and-white shells, accompanied by more music from “Star Trek.” As the smoke drifted, the final sounds were heard: the five-tone alien signal from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Afterward the verdict among some of the veterans was that the show was probably not a trophy winner — that the choice of theme and music was a bit clichéd, that the effects weren’t startling enough, that the all-white finale, though elegant, lacked a certain drama.
But back at a makeshift beer hall where team members and others relaxed and discussed the show, Mr. Chouillier looked happy and relieved. “My big fear was that something would go wrong, and it didn’t,” he said.
And judging from the hoots and hollers in the grandstand, the show was a crowd pleaser.
“It’s the best we’ve ever seen,” said Mark Jeffries, a Floridian who with his family had come to Montreal to visit his mother. “There’s some fireworks we’ve never seen before.”
His 11-year-old daughter, Carlin, had no problem with the finale.
“In Florida they shoot off all of them,” she said. “They kind of overwhelm you. This was different. Just nice and white.”
VISITOR INFORMATION
L’International des Feux Loto-Québec continues every Saturday through Aug. 2 and on three Wednesdays — July 23 and 30 and the closing show, on Aug. 6. The countries represented include Australia, Austria, China, Italy, Portugal and South Korea; the United States entry’s show is on July 30. Fireworks begin at 10 p.m.
Grandstand tickets, which include all-day park admission, range from 44.90 to 56 Canadian dollars (about the same amount in American dollars) for people over 4-foot-6; it’s less for those under that height. After 5 p.m. tickets are about half price.
La Ronde is best reached by public transportation. The Papineau Métro station, on the Green Line, connects with the 169 bus, which goes to the park’s front gate. Alternatively, the Yellow Line stops in Parc Jean-Drapeau on the other side of the Île Ste-Hélène; it connects with the 167 bus to La Ronde, or a 15-minute walk will get you there (and you’ll pass the geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller for Expo 67; it now houses an environment museum). After the show, walking to the Yellow Line is the best way off the island.
Free places to watch the shows include the Jacques Cartier Bridge, which closes to traffic at 8 p.m.; the Old Port of Montreal; and around Boulevard René-Lévesque north of the bridge.
Fireworks expected to cost more next year
Reduced supply in China, fuel costs said to create ‘perfect storm' in industry
By Jason Morton Staff Writer Tuscaloo News
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080629/NEWS/167413062/1007/NEWS02&title=Fireworks_expected_to_cost_more_next_year
Published: Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:52 p.m.
The storm is occurring in China, the main supplier of fireworks to the U.S. Bruce Volensky, vice president of sales for Pyrotechnico, which does display fireworks shows, said he's not seen anything like it in his 20 years in the business.
'It's quite unusual,' Volensky said. 'It really is the perfect storm in the industry, as far as price is concerned.'
The fallout, Volensky said, is already beginning to manifest itself in small ways.
'Next year, possibly, the costs could go up dramatically,' he said. Volensky said prices could range from 30 percent to 50 percent higher.
China began decreasing its shipments of fireworks overseas in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing later this summer.
Then, about four months ago, an explosion in the Chinese port city of Sanshui destroyed 20 fireworks warehouses. The explosion rattled homes miles away and set off fireworks for more than 24 hours.
Add
rising fuel costs — which increase shipping costs as well as the price of the chemicals used to launch the type of fireworks used by the large display fireworks companies — and the Chinese government's recent decision to stop subsidizing fireworks manufacturers, and the forecast points to smaller supplies and higher prices.
Tuscaloosa's fireworks spectacle planned for Friday at Sokol Park should not be affected, Volensky said. The company he works for is providing the fireworks for the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority's annual celebration.
The cost of the show will range between $18,000 and $20,000 — about $11,000 of that on the fireworks show alone — paid for primarily through sponsor donations.
But next year's fireworks display could be a scaled-back version.
'I don't think that would stop us from having it,' said Gary Minor, superintendent of recreation for PARA, 'but it could be possible that we would have to find more sponsors or pare back a little on the fireworks.'
Charging admission to view the show would be a last resort, he said.
'We've taken it on our shoulders to do this for the community,' Minor said. 'But unless [the price increase] really became extreme, we likely wouldn't do that.'
Pam Palmer, president of Fireworks of Alabama, which supplies about 100 fireworks stands in the state, said her company is also seeing price increases but does not think it will prove a serious problem to future supplies.
This year, though, she said people intending to buy fireworks for personal use should do so early.
'There is definitely a shortage in fireworks,' she said. 'We won't run out of fireworks, but we may run out of the type you want.'
The main reason is the cost of shipping, she said. Last year, a shipping crate full of fireworks cost $4,800 to ship from China. Today, that same shipment would cost $11,800.
Increases for individual fireworks, from Roman candles to bottle rockets, vary depending on the size of the product. She said consumers can expect to see fireworks going for 10 percent to 50 percent more per item than last year.
'The larger the items,' she said, 'the larger the price increase because they take up more space on the [shipping] container.'
Local stands, though, said they haven't seen any changes in the fireworks supply.
'We've got more than we ever had,' said Brad Hill, 31, of Brookwood, who operates the TNT Fireworks stand in Northport on Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevard.
Hill said he's been operating fireworks stands for about four years now to benefit his church, Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Cottondale.
So has Erick Johnson, 35, of Cottondale. He said the proceeds from his stand, located on U.S. Highway 82 next to Wal-Mart in Northport, go toward The Sanctuary in Bessemer.
The friends were working together on Thursday to get Hill's stand stocked in time for the weekend's anticipated sales rush. Both men said they had seen no effects of the fireworks shortfall, except for some increased prices.
'But that's nothing new,' Hill said. 'They do that every other year, anyway.'
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0510.
By Jason Morton Staff Writer Tuscaloo News
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080629/NEWS/167413062/1007/NEWS02&title=Fireworks_expected_to_cost_more_next_year
Published: Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:52 p.m.
The storm is occurring in China, the main supplier of fireworks to the U.S. Bruce Volensky, vice president of sales for Pyrotechnico, which does display fireworks shows, said he's not seen anything like it in his 20 years in the business.
'It's quite unusual,' Volensky said. 'It really is the perfect storm in the industry, as far as price is concerned.'
The fallout, Volensky said, is already beginning to manifest itself in small ways.
'Next year, possibly, the costs could go up dramatically,' he said. Volensky said prices could range from 30 percent to 50 percent higher.
China began decreasing its shipments of fireworks overseas in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing later this summer.
Then, about four months ago, an explosion in the Chinese port city of Sanshui destroyed 20 fireworks warehouses. The explosion rattled homes miles away and set off fireworks for more than 24 hours.
Add
rising fuel costs — which increase shipping costs as well as the price of the chemicals used to launch the type of fireworks used by the large display fireworks companies — and the Chinese government's recent decision to stop subsidizing fireworks manufacturers, and the forecast points to smaller supplies and higher prices.
Tuscaloosa's fireworks spectacle planned for Friday at Sokol Park should not be affected, Volensky said. The company he works for is providing the fireworks for the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority's annual celebration.
The cost of the show will range between $18,000 and $20,000 — about $11,000 of that on the fireworks show alone — paid for primarily through sponsor donations.
But next year's fireworks display could be a scaled-back version.
'I don't think that would stop us from having it,' said Gary Minor, superintendent of recreation for PARA, 'but it could be possible that we would have to find more sponsors or pare back a little on the fireworks.'
Charging admission to view the show would be a last resort, he said.
'We've taken it on our shoulders to do this for the community,' Minor said. 'But unless [the price increase] really became extreme, we likely wouldn't do that.'
Pam Palmer, president of Fireworks of Alabama, which supplies about 100 fireworks stands in the state, said her company is also seeing price increases but does not think it will prove a serious problem to future supplies.
This year, though, she said people intending to buy fireworks for personal use should do so early.
'There is definitely a shortage in fireworks,' she said. 'We won't run out of fireworks, but we may run out of the type you want.'
The main reason is the cost of shipping, she said. Last year, a shipping crate full of fireworks cost $4,800 to ship from China. Today, that same shipment would cost $11,800.
Increases for individual fireworks, from Roman candles to bottle rockets, vary depending on the size of the product. She said consumers can expect to see fireworks going for 10 percent to 50 percent more per item than last year.
'The larger the items,' she said, 'the larger the price increase because they take up more space on the [shipping] container.'
Local stands, though, said they haven't seen any changes in the fireworks supply.
'We've got more than we ever had,' said Brad Hill, 31, of Brookwood, who operates the TNT Fireworks stand in Northport on Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevard.
Hill said he's been operating fireworks stands for about four years now to benefit his church, Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Cottondale.
So has Erick Johnson, 35, of Cottondale. He said the proceeds from his stand, located on U.S. Highway 82 next to Wal-Mart in Northport, go toward The Sanctuary in Bessemer.
The friends were working together on Thursday to get Hill's stand stocked in time for the weekend's anticipated sales rush. Both men said they had seen no effects of the fireworks shortfall, except for some increased prices.
'But that's nothing new,' Hill said. 'They do that every other year, anyway.'
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0510.
Will changes in China cause local fireworks shows to fizzle out?
By Mary Ann Ford
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/06/26/news/doc48629510d1915082959289.txt
BLOOMINGTON -- This year’s fireworks should bring the usual “ohhhhs” and “ahhhhs,” but next year’s displays could be a dud.
Shipping problems and changes in China’s labor and safety laws not only are expected to limit the fireworks imported into the United States but likely will increase the price three-fold or more.
“Everything is up in the air,” said Neecy Vinyard, president and owner of S&N Fireworks of Lincoln. “Shipping costs went up 25 percent this year. We’re expecting a substantial increase in cost next year.”
In addition, Vinyard said, China is no longer exporting the larger fireworks that are used in displays at Bloomington’s Miller Park and Normal’s Fairview Park on the Fourth of July.
The Twin Cities are in the middle of a three-year contract with S&N so the municipalities are guaranteed fireworks through 2009. What kind of fireworks will be available remains to be seen.
“If we locked in for a three-year contract, it stays at that price,” Vinyard said.
That means the company will have to eat any increased costs, just like it did for the increased shipping costs this year. The shipping charges went up after the company had sent a catalog listing prices, Vinyard said.
Andy James, president of Mad Bomber Fireworks in Indiana, said problems started after a February explosion at a warehouse at a port in China. The warehouse had about 100,000 cases of fireworks waiting to be shipped out.
“When the explosion occurred, it sent off a knee-jerk reaction and other ports closed,” James said.
That caused a shipping bottleneck and prompted shipping costs to skyrocket, said Tom Thompson, vice president of Melrose Pyrotechnics. Melrose and Mad Bomber are among the companies the Twin Cities has considered as firework suppliers.
Thompson said China also has implemented new safety guidelines at the ports and new labor laws that affect fireworks factories. About 98 percent of the fireworks used in the United States come from China.
“There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved” before fireworks distributors in the United States know what will be available next year, Thompson said.
“The biggest issue is shipping,” he said. “The ports need to be open.”
Vinyard said because China is hosting the Summer Olympics Aug. 8-24, the country has banned the shipment of fireworks out of the country from July 1 through the end of the Olympics.
While that won’t affected S&N, Melrose or Mad Bomber — each company received the bulk of their 2008 order before the first of the year — it could affect other suppliers.
Vinyard said her company has received calls from some Missouri towns looking for fireworks. She’s also had calls from other firework distributors in the United States wanting to buy some of her supply.
James said his company had its 2008 order by last fall and has already started ordering for the future.
“We have three containers on the way now,” he said.
The company, located at a former ammunition plant, has ample storage available.
Thompson said even though prices are expected to increase significantly, he thinks fireworks still are a great bargain considering how many people are entertained at a fireworks display.
“We’ll always have fireworks,” he said.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/06/26/news/doc48629510d1915082959289.txt
BLOOMINGTON -- This year’s fireworks should bring the usual “ohhhhs” and “ahhhhs,” but next year’s displays could be a dud.
Shipping problems and changes in China’s labor and safety laws not only are expected to limit the fireworks imported into the United States but likely will increase the price three-fold or more.
“Everything is up in the air,” said Neecy Vinyard, president and owner of S&N Fireworks of Lincoln. “Shipping costs went up 25 percent this year. We’re expecting a substantial increase in cost next year.”
In addition, Vinyard said, China is no longer exporting the larger fireworks that are used in displays at Bloomington’s Miller Park and Normal’s Fairview Park on the Fourth of July.
The Twin Cities are in the middle of a three-year contract with S&N so the municipalities are guaranteed fireworks through 2009. What kind of fireworks will be available remains to be seen.
“If we locked in for a three-year contract, it stays at that price,” Vinyard said.
That means the company will have to eat any increased costs, just like it did for the increased shipping costs this year. The shipping charges went up after the company had sent a catalog listing prices, Vinyard said.
Andy James, president of Mad Bomber Fireworks in Indiana, said problems started after a February explosion at a warehouse at a port in China. The warehouse had about 100,000 cases of fireworks waiting to be shipped out.
“When the explosion occurred, it sent off a knee-jerk reaction and other ports closed,” James said.
That caused a shipping bottleneck and prompted shipping costs to skyrocket, said Tom Thompson, vice president of Melrose Pyrotechnics. Melrose and Mad Bomber are among the companies the Twin Cities has considered as firework suppliers.
Thompson said China also has implemented new safety guidelines at the ports and new labor laws that affect fireworks factories. About 98 percent of the fireworks used in the United States come from China.
“There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved” before fireworks distributors in the United States know what will be available next year, Thompson said.
“The biggest issue is shipping,” he said. “The ports need to be open.”
Vinyard said because China is hosting the Summer Olympics Aug. 8-24, the country has banned the shipment of fireworks out of the country from July 1 through the end of the Olympics.
While that won’t affected S&N, Melrose or Mad Bomber — each company received the bulk of their 2008 order before the first of the year — it could affect other suppliers.
Vinyard said her company has received calls from some Missouri towns looking for fireworks. She’s also had calls from other firework distributors in the United States wanting to buy some of her supply.
James said his company had its 2008 order by last fall and has already started ordering for the future.
“We have three containers on the way now,” he said.
The company, located at a former ammunition plant, has ample storage available.
Thompson said even though prices are expected to increase significantly, he thinks fireworks still are a great bargain considering how many people are entertained at a fireworks display.
“We’ll always have fireworks,” he said.
What's new in neighborhood fireworks
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_9722879
Article Launched: 06/27/2008 06:32:58 PM PDT
Two major providers of firworks, TNT and Phantom Fireworks, have come up with 10 new state-approved items for this Fourth of July.
Retailing for $4.50 at TNT stands is Mighty Man, an ellipse-shaped fountain with red, green, blue and yellow stars, as well as crackles with a titanium additive that produces bright silver-white sparks.
Emitting from the hexagon-shaped Glittering Jewels ($20) from TNT are colorful fishes with red, green and blue stars and titanium crackles.
Pharaoh's Treasure ($20, TNT), one of the few trapezoidal fireworks on the market, offers white smoke and a red torch with titanium rain, sparks of purple, green and blue, and loud, crackling chrysanthemums to go with red and golden fishes.
The $22 Jack in the Hex from TNT has an unusual design of hexagons and triangles to suggest a sprung-up jack-in-the-box. It spews a series of stars, crackles, chrysanthemums and flowers in red, silver, yellow, blue, orange and white, plus titanium crackles and a strobe effect.
Hexagon-shaped Dancing Stars ($40) from TNT features a unique "darting" or "jumping" fish effect and stars, chrysanthemums and crackles of green, red, yellow, blue, silver and gold.
The largest newcomer from TNT this year is 3-Ring Circus ($50), a raucous fountain shaped like three interlocked cylinders, bursts with crackles, chrysanthemums and torches in eight colors.
Phantom has a noiseless fountain called Flying Stars Fountain. Retailing for $10, the colorful item features a fish effect.
Blooming Flower ($25) is a novelty from Phantom with whistling silver spray and six blossoming flower petals accompanied by red, green and blue flares and multi-effect crackle.
Rock Around the Clock ($20) from Phantom is a fountain that has a spinning hand clock. The fan effect emits bright silver showers followed by a three-stage whistle and more showers, finishing with a crackling gold chrysanthemum finale.
Solid-Fuel Rocket Booster ($30) from Phantom is packaged like it sounds; it emits red and white glitter, silver chrysanthemums, crackle and green-yellow and blue silk pearls.
Article Launched: 06/27/2008 06:32:58 PM PDT
Two major providers of firworks, TNT and Phantom Fireworks, have come up with 10 new state-approved items for this Fourth of July.
Retailing for $4.50 at TNT stands is Mighty Man, an ellipse-shaped fountain with red, green, blue and yellow stars, as well as crackles with a titanium additive that produces bright silver-white sparks.
Emitting from the hexagon-shaped Glittering Jewels ($20) from TNT are colorful fishes with red, green and blue stars and titanium crackles.
Pharaoh's Treasure ($20, TNT), one of the few trapezoidal fireworks on the market, offers white smoke and a red torch with titanium rain, sparks of purple, green and blue, and loud, crackling chrysanthemums to go with red and golden fishes.
The $22 Jack in the Hex from TNT has an unusual design of hexagons and triangles to suggest a sprung-up jack-in-the-box. It spews a series of stars, crackles, chrysanthemums and flowers in red, silver, yellow, blue, orange and white, plus titanium crackles and a strobe effect.
Hexagon-shaped Dancing Stars ($40) from TNT features a unique "darting" or "jumping" fish effect and stars, chrysanthemums and crackles of green, red, yellow, blue, silver and gold.
The largest newcomer from TNT this year is 3-Ring Circus ($50), a raucous fountain shaped like three interlocked cylinders, bursts with crackles, chrysanthemums and torches in eight colors.
Phantom has a noiseless fountain called Flying Stars Fountain. Retailing for $10, the colorful item features a fish effect.
Blooming Flower ($25) is a novelty from Phantom with whistling silver spray and six blossoming flower petals accompanied by red, green and blue flares and multi-effect crackle.
Rock Around the Clock ($20) from Phantom is a fountain that has a spinning hand clock. The fan effect emits bright silver showers followed by a three-stage whistle and more showers, finishing with a crackling gold chrysanthemum finale.
Solid-Fuel Rocket Booster ($30) from Phantom is packaged like it sounds; it emits red and white glitter, silver chrysanthemums, crackle and green-yellow and blue silk pearls.
A BOOMING BUSINESS
A BOOMING BUSINESS
Sales skyrocket at Pa. store
Monday, June 30, 2008
BY LISA RICH
MORRISVILLE, Pa. -- They're firing off "motherloads" of fun for the whole family, or so the store brags.
Stationed less than a mile from the border of New Jersey, Sky King Fireworks resembles a pyrotechnic haven for out-of-staters who can legally purchase the explosives in Pennsylvania before sneaking them over state lines, where setting them off is a no-no.
Despite heightened criticism in recent years and proposed legislation to ban fireworks companies in Pennsylvania from selling to non-residents, business at Sky King appears to be booming.
"We're stocking up for this weekend and the Fourth," smiled Brendan Kinney, standing in a nearly packed Sky King parking lot on Pennsylvania Avenue. "They've got great deals here. You can get really powerful fireworks for not much money."
Kinney, 19, said he's a Pennsylvania resident. By law, he isn't allowed to purchase fireworks or shoot them off in his state. Waiting outside while his New Jersey friend purchased the goods, Kinney said he doesn't think setting off the devices is a big deal -- so long as people are safe.
"If you get hurt from fireworks, it's probably because it was your own fault," he said. "I can't tell you where we'll be setting ours off, but I can tell you it's going to be a good time."
Since Sky King opened in 2006, manager Joe Van has taken a lot of heat for selling the explosive wares.
A loophole in Pennsylvania law allows Van to only sell fireworks to out-of-state residents, including people from New York and New Jersey, where transporting or using the explosives is illegal. The loophole was created nearly four years ago when the Pennsylvania General Assembly modified a 1939 statute that allowed business to ship fireworks out of state.
Politicians have proposed rescinding those changes and local residents have voiced their own ire over what they say is an aggressive marketing approach toward young adults and children.
But that doesn't seem to bother Van, nor his customers.
"Independence Day without fireworks is like celebrating Christmas without Christmas trees or Thanksgiving without turkey," Van wrote in an e-mail. "There is nothing more strongly associated with the tradition of Independence Day than fireworks."
Weeks leading up to the Fourth of July, Sky King puts more gusto into advertising its array of fireworks, sending Garden State residents a 30-page brochure of the store's thousands of offerings, ranging from mortars and shells to larger explosives called "Fighting Force" and "Pyro's Playhouse."
Offering stock at buy-one-get-one deals, the brochure encourages patrons to "Tell 'em where you got it!"
But where -- and why -- people are "getting it" is exactly what irks some people who are annoyed by Sky King's advertisements.
"Sky King shamelessly markets to little kids and to people who aren't just looking for a picnic fireworks display," said former Hamilton, N.J., mayor Glen D. Gilmore. "The fireworks we saw in their store included many that were made to look like children's toys and others that had names boasting about their destructive power."
Federal law allows fireworks to contain 500 grams or more than a pound of pyrotechnic material.
Sky King offers consumer fireworks, meaning they contain more than 50 milligrams of explosive composition -- the material that makes fireworks go boom.
But before anyone can enter Sky King's doors, they first have to show an out-of-state identification or state-issued permit. They then have to sign a form stating transport to certain states is illegal.
Once granted access, patrons can walk among ceiling-high stacks of explosives and combo packages coined as "Loud and Rowdy" to "Crazy Exciting on Steroids."
Gilmore said these kinds of labels are enticing to kids, and has called for legislation to put Sky King out of business to New Jersey residents, "since what they're doing is encouraging people to break the law."
Pennsylvania Rep. John T. Galloway has attempted to nix the legislative loophole, so far to no avail.
Galloway, a Democrat representing a portion of Bucks County, introduced legislation in 2007 called the "Good Neighbor Bill" that would forbid stores to sell fireworks to out-of-state residents. The bill has sat idle for nearly a year, as it's still under review by the agriculture and rural affairs committee.
New Jersey State Police said they're beefing up patrols from Camden to Easton along the Delaware River where several fireworks stores have opened shop.
At this time last year, State Police arrested 28 people within two weeks for sneaking fireworks into New Jersey. Figures on arrests this year are not available.
State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said efforts will continue this season to curb the transport of fireworks.
"Our patrols and details have been at the river crossings and that does include some undercover work," Jones said. Last week, he said, a man was arrested with $500 worth of explosives.
Van has argued since the store's opening that he's not breaking any laws, and cited national figures that show injuries resulting from fireworks are declining.
According to the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA), based in Maryland, consumption of fireworks has grown nationwide from 132.9 million pounds in 1997 to 265.6 million pounds last year.
Injuries across the country spiked to nearly 11,000 in 2005 but declined to 9,800 last year. Since 1992, injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks used have dropped by 76 percent.
Julie Heckman, executive director of the APA, said her organization focuses on promoting fireworks safety.
Despite national media reports, which stated recent changes in federal fireworks laws have allowed the devices to contain more power, Heckman said the only changes to fireworks is the number of consumers.
"Over the past four years, we've seen unprecedented growth in the industry," Heckman said. "That has to do with newer kinds of fireworks that have really revolutionized backyard fireworks. And, at the same time, it's when more states started relaxing their laws."
The federal government did make its own standards more lenient in 1998 by allowing fireworks to contain 500 grams or more than a pound of pyrotechnic material. Heckman said these devices now make up 25 percent of industry sales.
Contact Lisa Rich at lrich@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5692.
© 2008 New Jersey On-Line LLC. All Rights Reserved
Sales skyrocket at Pa. store
Monday, June 30, 2008
BY LISA RICH
MORRISVILLE, Pa. -- They're firing off "motherloads" of fun for the whole family, or so the store brags.
Stationed less than a mile from the border of New Jersey, Sky King Fireworks resembles a pyrotechnic haven for out-of-staters who can legally purchase the explosives in Pennsylvania before sneaking them over state lines, where setting them off is a no-no.
Despite heightened criticism in recent years and proposed legislation to ban fireworks companies in Pennsylvania from selling to non-residents, business at Sky King appears to be booming.
"We're stocking up for this weekend and the Fourth," smiled Brendan Kinney, standing in a nearly packed Sky King parking lot on Pennsylvania Avenue. "They've got great deals here. You can get really powerful fireworks for not much money."
Kinney, 19, said he's a Pennsylvania resident. By law, he isn't allowed to purchase fireworks or shoot them off in his state. Waiting outside while his New Jersey friend purchased the goods, Kinney said he doesn't think setting off the devices is a big deal -- so long as people are safe.
"If you get hurt from fireworks, it's probably because it was your own fault," he said. "I can't tell you where we'll be setting ours off, but I can tell you it's going to be a good time."
Since Sky King opened in 2006, manager Joe Van has taken a lot of heat for selling the explosive wares.
A loophole in Pennsylvania law allows Van to only sell fireworks to out-of-state residents, including people from New York and New Jersey, where transporting or using the explosives is illegal. The loophole was created nearly four years ago when the Pennsylvania General Assembly modified a 1939 statute that allowed business to ship fireworks out of state.
Politicians have proposed rescinding those changes and local residents have voiced their own ire over what they say is an aggressive marketing approach toward young adults and children.
But that doesn't seem to bother Van, nor his customers.
"Independence Day without fireworks is like celebrating Christmas without Christmas trees or Thanksgiving without turkey," Van wrote in an e-mail. "There is nothing more strongly associated with the tradition of Independence Day than fireworks."
Weeks leading up to the Fourth of July, Sky King puts more gusto into advertising its array of fireworks, sending Garden State residents a 30-page brochure of the store's thousands of offerings, ranging from mortars and shells to larger explosives called "Fighting Force" and "Pyro's Playhouse."
Offering stock at buy-one-get-one deals, the brochure encourages patrons to "Tell 'em where you got it!"
But where -- and why -- people are "getting it" is exactly what irks some people who are annoyed by Sky King's advertisements.
"Sky King shamelessly markets to little kids and to people who aren't just looking for a picnic fireworks display," said former Hamilton, N.J., mayor Glen D. Gilmore. "The fireworks we saw in their store included many that were made to look like children's toys and others that had names boasting about their destructive power."
Federal law allows fireworks to contain 500 grams or more than a pound of pyrotechnic material.
Sky King offers consumer fireworks, meaning they contain more than 50 milligrams of explosive composition -- the material that makes fireworks go boom.
But before anyone can enter Sky King's doors, they first have to show an out-of-state identification or state-issued permit. They then have to sign a form stating transport to certain states is illegal.
Once granted access, patrons can walk among ceiling-high stacks of explosives and combo packages coined as "Loud and Rowdy" to "Crazy Exciting on Steroids."
Gilmore said these kinds of labels are enticing to kids, and has called for legislation to put Sky King out of business to New Jersey residents, "since what they're doing is encouraging people to break the law."
Pennsylvania Rep. John T. Galloway has attempted to nix the legislative loophole, so far to no avail.
Galloway, a Democrat representing a portion of Bucks County, introduced legislation in 2007 called the "Good Neighbor Bill" that would forbid stores to sell fireworks to out-of-state residents. The bill has sat idle for nearly a year, as it's still under review by the agriculture and rural affairs committee.
New Jersey State Police said they're beefing up patrols from Camden to Easton along the Delaware River where several fireworks stores have opened shop.
At this time last year, State Police arrested 28 people within two weeks for sneaking fireworks into New Jersey. Figures on arrests this year are not available.
State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said efforts will continue this season to curb the transport of fireworks.
"Our patrols and details have been at the river crossings and that does include some undercover work," Jones said. Last week, he said, a man was arrested with $500 worth of explosives.
Van has argued since the store's opening that he's not breaking any laws, and cited national figures that show injuries resulting from fireworks are declining.
According to the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA), based in Maryland, consumption of fireworks has grown nationwide from 132.9 million pounds in 1997 to 265.6 million pounds last year.
Injuries across the country spiked to nearly 11,000 in 2005 but declined to 9,800 last year. Since 1992, injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks used have dropped by 76 percent.
Julie Heckman, executive director of the APA, said her organization focuses on promoting fireworks safety.
Despite national media reports, which stated recent changes in federal fireworks laws have allowed the devices to contain more power, Heckman said the only changes to fireworks is the number of consumers.
"Over the past four years, we've seen unprecedented growth in the industry," Heckman said. "That has to do with newer kinds of fireworks that have really revolutionized backyard fireworks. And, at the same time, it's when more states started relaxing their laws."
The federal government did make its own standards more lenient in 1998 by allowing fireworks to contain 500 grams or more than a pound of pyrotechnic material. Heckman said these devices now make up 25 percent of industry sales.
Contact Lisa Rich at lrich@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5692.
© 2008 New Jersey On-Line LLC. All Rights Reserved
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