Effect of fireworks events on urban background trace metal aerosol concentrations: is the cocktail worth the show?

We report on the effect of a major firework event on urban background atmospheric PM(2.5) chemistry, using 24-h data collected over 8 weeks at two sites in Girona, Spain. The firework pollution episode (Sant Joan fiesta on 23rd June 2008) measured in city centre parkland increased local background PM(2.5) concentrations as follows: Sr (x86), K (x26), Ba (x11), Co (x9), Pb (x7), Cu (x5), Zn (x4), Bi (x4), Mg (x4), Rb (x4), Sb (x3), P (x3), Ga (x2), Mn (x2), As (x2), Ti (x2) and SO(4)(2-) (x2). Marked increases in these elements were also measured outside the park as the pollution cloud drifted over the city centre, and levels of some metals remained elevated above background for days after the event as a reservoir of metalliferous dust persisted within the urban area. Transient high-PM pollution episodes are a proven health hazard, made worse in the case of firework combustion because many of the elements released are both toxic and finely respirable, and because displays commonly take place in an already polluted urban atmosphere.