RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Department of Health reported that the air quality this past New Year's Eve (December 31, 2004) contained some of the highest levels of smoke in the past four years; and

WHEREAS, while state and federal air quality standards allow one hundred fifty micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air, the Pearl City area averaged one hundred ninety-five micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter on December 31, 2004, and peaked at one thousand five hundred twenty-one micrograms at 1:00 a.m. on January 1, 2005; and

WHEREAS, the smoke produced from fireworks contains toxic airborne pollutants that are hazardous to health; and

WHEREAS, it is generally recognized that fragile lung tissue is easily damaged by these airborne pollutants, resulting in increased risk of asthma and allergies, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases; and

WHEREAS, in addition, the Legislature notes that: inhalation exposure to chlorates, a common ingredient of fireworks, may result in hemolysis (the destruction of blood cells) and acute renal failure; inhalation exposure to barium compounds, a common ingredient of sparklers, may cause shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, muscular paralysis, pneumoconiosis (a lung disease caused by inhaling dust), and death from respiratory or cardiac failure; and inhalation exposure to nitrate compounds, also a common ingredient of sparklers, may cause chronic lung disease; and

WHEREAS, different types of fireworks are made with different combinations of chemicals and produce different quantities of smoke; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Director of Health is requested to evaluate the commonly marketed fireworks and "novelties" such as sparklers in Hawaii to determine which types produce the greater amount of smoke; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Health is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006, including recommended legislation for restricting or prohibiting the use of particular types of fireworks and "novelties" that pose a health threat due to the amount of smoke they produce; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

Report Title:

Fireworks; Health; Smoke