The Sight & Hearing Association urges families to attend public
fireworks displays, instead of using fireworks at home. The following
facts illustrate why:
- Of the approximately 7,000 fireworks-related injuries each year in
the United States, approximately 2,000 are eye injuries caused by
consumer fireworks. About one-third of these injuries result in
permanent eye damage and one-fourth in permanent vision loss or
blindness. Nearly one in 20 victims lose all useful vision or require
removal of the eye.
- 40 percent of all eye injuries caused by consumer fireworks are
inflicted on bystanders.
- Three-fourths of all fireworks-related eye injuries are to boys
between the ages of 13 and 15.
- The single most dangerous type of firework is the small, explosive
bottle rocket. Bottle rockets are the most dangerous because they fly
erratically, causing bystander injuries. The bottles and cans used to
launch them often explode, showering fragments of glass and metal.
- Sparklers, often given to young children, burn at 1800 degrees
Fahrenheit - a temperature hot enough to melt gold.
- The cost of treating fireworks injuries in hospital emergency rooms
soared to $24 million in 1991.
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