Every summer, some Winnemac Park residents await the Fourth of July with dread. The unofficial — and illegal — fireworks show that takes place in the park every year can upset those with post-traumatic stress disorder, pets and children, neighbors said.
But this year, after a stretch of wildfire smoke that blanketed the city for days, residents said it’s expected to be even more of a nuisance because of the bad air that will linger.
“We can’t control the wildfires happening in Canada. But we could control how we celebrate our freedom and independence,” said 64-year-old Russ Klettke, who lives across from the park, on Chicago’s North Side.
The bright-colored chemical reactions that take place when fireworks go off might be visual wonders, but experts said they release harmful particles and pollutants you don’t want to inhale.
Klettke has seen the annual fireworks show increase in size and spectacle every year since moving to the neighborhood in 2005. This year, he rented air quality monitors to use Tuesday to have data to show skeptical neighbors and city officials.
“I walked around the neighborhood (last year) and looked at the bluish haze and fog in the air thinking, ‘Can’t be good for you,’” he said.
Using air quality monitors borrowed from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 office, Klettke plans to get a general picture of the air during the festivities.
There’s been increased interest in the agency’s loan program, which started in 2018, said Macy Pressley, spokesperson for the EPA. She said several people reached out to borrow monitors after the smoke last week prompted two days of air quality alerts for everyone in most parts of Illinois.
Klettke said the recent attention on wildfire smoke has made air quality issues a lot easier to talk about.
“I think we’re learning that our air can be a dangerous place,” he said.
Science and health effects
When fireworks are ignited, the black powder inside them explodes, setting off loosely packed, finer explosive material called stars. Stars contain metals that produce different colors, and their placement determines the shape that’s seen in the night sky.
Some of the pollutants emitted by fireworks include greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen.
Fireworks also emit particles small enough to enter the bloodstream and lungs, known as PM2.5. This is the same type of particle pollution that triggered the air quality alert last week, when PM2.5 levels reached a point that was dangerous for the general public, not just sensitive groups like those with asthma.
During a holiday involving fireworks, like the Fourth of July, and for a few days afterward, PM2.5 levels recorded in an area are typically two to 10 times greater than on an average day.
Swiss air technology company IQAir said Chicago’s air quality was “demonstrably worse” on July 4 in 2022 and 2021. Both years, the air quality index nearly quadrupled between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Even though wildfire smoke contains the same dangerous particles, experts said the toxicity and health effects of PM2.5 depend on the source.
Wildfire smoke contains organic compounds and small amounts of metals, some of the most dangerous compounds for human health, said Vishal Verma, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In the case of wildfire smoke, particles can also become more toxic while traveling in the atmosphere due to weather conditions, through a process called oxidation where substances change because of the addition of oxygen.
The effects of the atmosphere on firework smoke is still unclear, Verma said. But if wildfire smoke can become oxidized, it’s likely that firework smoke can, too.
In terms of what they’re made of, fireworks contain certain types of metals that produce vibrant colors when ignited. For example, copper makes the color blue and is one of the more toxic metals, Verma said.
“Copper is a metal, which is very efficient in generating the oxidants in the lungs, you know, we call that as oxidative stress in the lungs,” he said. “It is a major class of the pollutants in PM2.5.”
Oxidative stress is the imbalance of unstable molecules called free radicals and antioxidants in the body, which can lead to cell and tissue damage, according to the National Institutes of Health.
A 2021 study co-authored by Verma recorded “substantial” toxic PM2.5 levels during the week of July 4.
“We have found that although it is a very short-term source, it actually has a very, very, very high toxicity of the particles emitted,” Verma said.
People that are the most at risk for health effects from PM2.5 are children and those with respiratory or heart issues, research shows.
Background levels of PM2.5 are also different across Chicago neighborhoods, consistent with previous research showing how communities of color are disproportionately impacted by air pollution. A 2021 study found that levels were “notably higher” on July 4 in Chicago neighborhoods with larger Black populations .
According to AirNow, the air quality forecast on Tuesday will be “unhealthy for sensitive groups” with ground-level ozone, known as smog, being the primary pollutant.
Ground-level ozone is different from the naturally occurring ozone layer found higher up in the atmosphere, or stratosphere.
It is produced when two types of pollutants — organic chemical compounds, which are produced in the manufacture of products like paint, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants, and nitrogen oxides from diesel and gasoline engines — react in sunlight. That means that ground-level ozone is produced more effectively and concentrates more in hot, dry and still weather.
When a person inhales ozone, it chemically burns the throat, airways and lungs, which leads to swelling. This can cause shortness of breath, asthma attacks, coughing, chest pains and throat irritation.
PM2.5 can cause similar symptoms, but it is linked to more chronic conditions than ozone, Verma said. There’s not a lot of research on what the combined effects of PM2.5 and ozone are on the human body.
‘A no-brainer’
“There’s a huge, obviously, issue of regular good old-fashioned pollution that we’re already dealing with, and it’s gonna get worse for the Fourth of July,” said 62-year-old Marian Nixon, another resident near Winnemac Park.
Nixon recognizes that there’s bigger problems in the city but said this is something that could easily be solved.
“They will only stop when someone gets hurt or worse,” she said. “It should be a no-brainer. But it’s not, and I don’t understand why.”
Consumer fireworks, other than sparklers or smoke bombs, are illegal in Chicago and in Illinois, carrying fines of up to $2,500. But that doesn’t stop the multitude of unofficial fireworks shows that take place in neighborhoods across the city.
In 2022, at least 11 people died and an estimated 10,200 were injured in incidents involving fireworks, according to a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Nixon, Klettke and other residents around Winnemac Park have brought the issue up to city and park officials for years, they said.
Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, said he’s received complaints about the fireworks since taking office in 2019. Each year, he has told residents that the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Park District have so only much available staff. But it’ll be different this year.
Last week, Vasquez’s office released a statement about restrictions to the park for the holiday, including police presence, to deter any firework use. Other restrictions include closing the school parking lot nearby and new fencing.
He shares the concerns about the effect of fireworks on the city’s air quality. “When we know we’re having that much firework activity citywide, there’s no way that makes it better,” Vasquez said.
There’s also discussions of an alternate event in the park next year, one that involves the community without disturbing some residents, Vasquez said..
Klettke was surprised when he saw the statement and remains skeptical as to whether it’ll work. He’s still planning to use his air quality monitors.
“So maybe it really will happen; they really will stop this. I say, let’s see what happens when it happens,” Klettke said. “It’ll be an interesting evening.”
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