[CPEO-MEF] PERCHLORATE: Alternative firework formulations

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Pyrotechnics For The Planet
Chemists seek environmentally friendlier compounds and formulations for 
fireworks and flares


Bethany Halford
Chemical & Engineering News (Cover Story)
June 30, 2008

WHETHER THEY'RE lighting up Roman candles or basking in the glow of a 
fireworks extravaganza this Fourth of July, chemists are entitled to 
feel a certain amount of professional pride along with their patriotism. 
After all, it's chemistry that gives a humble bottle rocket its pop and 
makes a chrysanthemum shell bloom into a crowd-pleasing explosion of 
colored sparks.

Even so, when it comes to pyrotechnics, students of chemistry would be 
wise to bear in mind this old adage from physics: What goes up must come 
down. The complex brew of oxidizers, propellants, fuels, binders, and 
coloring agents is what makes each firework's burst brilliant. But it 
leaves behind a smoky ghost of combustion products and particulate 
matter, which waft their way into the nearby soil and water.

The same thing happens when real rockets give off their red glare. 
Military pyrotechnics, which encompass everything from missile 
propellants to handheld flares, release a plume of smoke and potentially 
toxic products that pose a health hazard to the men and women of the 
armed forces who may breathe them in.

...

For the entire article, see
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8626cover.html

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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