Key information
Request reference number: MGLA020124-3182
Date of response:
Summary of request
Your request
New Year’s Eve firework display on the Thames was the largest fireworks display in Europe. What was the environmental footprint of the display from natural raw materials for the manufacture of the fireworks to the combustion products from the display? Also, what were the hazardous properties of the combustion products of the fireworks that Londoners and visitors were exposed to?
Our response
The London NYE 2023 display is held in an open venue, and the smoke and combustion by-products disperse rapidly in the majority of meteorological conditions. Large firework displays are a rare occurrence, their impact is extremely short lived, localised and minimal.
Environment and sustainability are embedded in the procurement and contracting process for London’s New Year’s Eve event, with an environmental plan to manage key environmental impacts which the event management company consider throughout the planning and delivery process. These practices have meant that this year’s emissions from the display were reduced by 26% since 2016.
Our contractor provided the below calculations that shows the by-products of the fireworks used in the display:
Supplementary questions
- Potassium Sulphide 163.30kg: Signal Word Danger. Hazard statement(s): H314 Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. H400 Very toxic to aquatic life. Why use this component?
- Metal Salts 131.10 kg Low solubility. Please fully identify the metal salts?
Our response
The substances referenced are combustion by-products, not components specifically added to the fireworks compositions. They are produced at the reaction surface of burning pyrotechnic compositions and are very widely dispersed. It should also be noted that the calculations of outputs from the display are an approximation using Net Explosive Content figures. They are provided by a third-party expert with many years of work in this field. Overall, they consider that the combustion by-products produced pose an extremely low risk given the nature of the materials, the limited quantities, the extended time period and the volume into which they are dispersed.
- Potassium sulphide is produced primarily from the burning of potassium nitrate and sulphur in the lifting charges of shells, Roman candles, mines etc. At the high temperatures inside and at the mouth of the mortar tube the majority is most likely oxidised to Potassium sulphate. In addition, Potassium sulphide reacts readily with water to form Potassium hydrosulphide and Potassium hydroxide.
- The metal salts are various, mostly oxides and halides, formed from the various metals and anhydrous metal salts (eg metal carbonates or metal sulphates) that are added to star compositions to create colours. The exact breakdown is dependent on the design of the display and the exact chemistry of each effect. This further data is not held