Chemical contamination from fireworks is found in homes and local produce, according to expert Alfred Vella who said evidence could no longer be hidden away just because it may be “an inconvenient truth for some”.
Laying out the science based on research conducted by the University of Malta, Prof. Vella said perchlorate, one of the more important chemicals used in fireworks and which has no regulatory limit, was found in homes from about 40 towns in Malta and Gozo.
Prof. Vella said residents are constantly in contact with this dust and transfer amounts of it to their stomach via hand to mouth, Prof. Vella said, adding that if you live in Malta, you are also ingesting perchlorate through your food.
The debate on such chemical contamination was sparked by amendments to regulations to make the practice “safer”.
But Prof. Vella, who had led the inquiry commissioned in September 2010 following a spate of tragic firework accidents, said he was not satisfied by the outcome even though the Home Affairs Ministry said the regulations were based on the inquiry’s report.
“We have clear evidence to show that certain crops, such as lettuce, when grown in local fields will likely contain the chemical,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta.
In comparison, researchers analysed imported (European) lettuce and found it did not contain perchlorate. The studies conducted over six years also discovered perchlorate in the shell of edible land snails.
“I suggest we stop denying the facts and face reality: it is absurd to expect that you can burn tons of chemical materials for months to celebrate over 85 feasts and expect the waste products from these combustion reactions to simply disappear. The white smoke of exploding petards is loaded with toxic chemicals,” Prof. Vella said.
He is not advocating a ban on fireworks, yet said: “This is not alarmist talk but responsible reporting.”
This is not alarmist talk but responsible reporting
Labour MP Godfrey Farrugia last week defended the regulations, saying licensed pyrotechnicians have been gradually switching from chlorates to perchlorates to improve health and safety standards.
Dr Farrugia, who was the pyrotechnics association’s secretary until his appointment as health minister, said health risks linking perchlorate concentrations to thyroid disorders are debatable. He pointed to pollutants from traffic and the power station, saying: “We must adopt a more positive, proactive approach to pyrotechnics.”
Prof. Vella contested the argument: “Perchlorate has absolutely nothing to do with traffic emissions. Its presence in our environment is due solely to the tons of material imported annually for one use only: namely, to produce the bombi (petards) in honour of saints,” Prof. Vella said.
He said Malta probably has “a world record of perchlorate contamination” as it is found in dust fall throughout the year – increasing by factors of 100 to 500 between June to September.
Medical science states that perchlorate is a chemical known to affect the function of the thyroid gland, especially in infants, pregnant women and foetuses.
“Is the chemical capable of inducing cancer when humans are exposed to low concentrations over an indefinite period of time, as happens locally? Science doesn’t know.
“It does know that perchlorate causes cancer in laboratory rats. Should we allow people, especially children, to be exposed to this potential danger? Do we, in Malta, have a problem with thyroid health, especially in females?”
He said findings on airborne dusts were published in a peer-reviewed international journal and show unequivocal evidence that air quality is permanently reduced during the summer period with the presence of toxic metals in the respirable fine dusts (PM10) – these metals (including barium, copper and antimony) are not related to traffic emissions or the power station.
He says the precautionary principle mandates “we mitigate the risk” and the control mechanism available is to reduce the quantity of fireworks.