Fireworks, one of the most commonly used entertainment tools today, cause significant harm to the environment, human and animal health at the moment of explosion. Experts state that fireworks, which have come to the agenda with their intensive use in New Year's celebrations, disturb personal peace and increase stress in humans and other living beings, especially birds, in cases of long-term or sudden exposure. Dr. Ahmet Adiller recommends that individuals who intend to use fireworks for entertainment purposes should be informed about their harms and dissuaded from their decisions, as fireworks pose a deadly risk to birds and create a stimulating effect in neurological diseases such as epilepsy in humans.
Those who will use them should be informed about the harms and dissuaded…
Dr. Lecturer Ahmet Adiller from the Environmental Health Program at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vocational School of Health Services recently made evaluations regarding the harms of fireworks, frequently used in New Year's celebrations, to the environment, animal, and human health.
Fireworks pose a health risk
Stating that fireworks are unfortunately one of the most common entertainment tools that have been in our lives for a long time, Dr. Ahmet Adiller said, “A few minutes of entertainment has many harms to humans, nature, and natural life. Firstly, since fireworks are produced by chemical methods, they contain compounds of toxic substances such as lead, even if not in high amounts. With the explosion of fireworks, some of these chemicals disperse on the surface and some in the air. The air polluting effects of these gases and dust contribute to regional air pollution. In addition, the noise and light emitted also pose certain health risks.”
Can create a stimulating effect for epilepsy
Expressing that noise is already a type of environmental pollution, Dr. Ahmet Adiller said, “Fireworks contain psychological effects such as disturbing personal peace and increasing stress levels, especially in cases of long-term or sudden exposure, as well as many physiological effects. When it comes to light, it can create a stimulating effect in neurological diseases such as epilepsy. Therefore, we can say that fireworks affect both the environment, animals, and public health.”
Presents a deadly risk for birds
Dr. Ahmet Adiller emphasized that the air constitutes an important part of birds' natural habitat and continued his words as follows:
“Even if the number of birds in the air in natural habitats is not very high at night, some birds can be in the air at night due to the effect of city lights. Birds in the air in the region can be directly harmed by the explosion of fireworks. The sound and noise caused by fireworks cause an increase in stress levels in many living beings, especially birds. As a result, many living beings can injure themselves by hitting something while trying to escape, or even die. Especially birds on the surface in wetlands take flight, startled by the sound and light caused by fireworks, even if they are detonated at a considerable distance. Since most birds do not have very high night vision capabilities, this situation can lead to consequences such as injury and death for these creatures. Birds during the incubation period may leave their nests and chicks and never return to their nests again. This situation can often result in the death of the chicks. In addition, birds in the area where the explosion occurs are exposed to serious levels of gases and dust generated by the explosion, even if they are not killed or injured. This increases their likelihood of experiencing chronic health problems.”
Carbon emission is the main cause of climate change
Stating that air pollution is one of the important environmental pollutions today, Dr. Ahmet Adiller said, “Both the increase in carbon emissions and other pollutants directly or indirectly affect the environment and therefore humans. Carbon emission is the main cause of global warming and climate change. Changes in the climate system have many negative effects on the environment, from agricultural production, to water resources, to events such as floods, and to natural life. In addition to this climatic effect, air pollutants harm living beings in the environment both through respiration and by passing into water and soil, where they continue their harmful effects.”
Societal awareness level is increasing
Dr. Ahmet Adiller said that the petition campaigns organized on this issue are the biggest indicator of our increasing societal awareness and concluded his words as follows:
“Although a large part of these petition campaigns do not achieve their main goal, they leave an impact on the segments they reach. This impact leads to an increase in societal awareness. As a society, even if we cannot directly prevent the use of fireworks, especially in big celebrations, demonstrating our stance on the issue and not participating in such events can actually lead to our reaction being understood and achieving results over time. Besides this, the point where we can directly influence is to prevent individual use. Unfortunately, fireworks are also frequently used in events such as weddings, birthdays, and opening ceremonies. At this point, talking about the harms of fireworks to people who organize such events in our environment and dissuading them from these decisions can allow us to create a more direct impact.”