Updated

Updated · KIRO Seattle · Jun 27

700 Pounds of Fireworks Explode on Whidbey Island, Destroying 2 Homes and Injuring 5

Updated

Updated · KIRO Seattle · Jun 27

700 Pounds of Fireworks Explode on Whidbey Island, Destroying 2 Homes and Injuring 5

Q: Beyond the blast that leveled homes, what toxic legacy did the explosion leave behind in the environment?

The blast likely left behind a mix of hazardous air pollution and chemical residue from the fireworks themselves. Fireworks are made with black powder ingredients such as sulfur and carbon, along with metal compounds that create colors, including barium, strontium, copper and aluminum. When hundreds of pounds detonate, those materials are dispersed as fine particulate matter, soot, smoke and debris. In the air, that means a spike in PM2.5 and PM10 particles, plus gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Those pollutants can irritate lungs, trigger asthma, worsen heart and respiratory conditions, and reduce air quality for hours or longer, especially close to the blast site. On the ground and in runoff, the residue can contaminate soil and nearby water with heavy metals, perchlorate and unburned pyrotechnic material. Rain can wash that debris into storm drains and local waterways, where it can harm fish and other aquatic life and add to longer-term environmental contamination. There is also a direct hazard from scattered fragments, ash, plastics and partially exploded fireworks left in the neighborhood. Those remnants can be toxic if handled or ingested by pets and wildlife. So beyond the destroyed homes, the explosion’s environmental legacy is a chemical one: polluted air, contaminated debris and the risk of metals and pyrotechnic compounds entering soil and water.

3 articles · Updated · KIRO Seattle · Jun 27

Five people were hurt after about 700 pounds of fireworks detonated Wednesday afternoon in Greenbank on Whidbey Island, leveling two homes and damaging a third.
Smoking materials near the fireworks likely triggered the blast, fire officials said, adding the stockpile had apparently been bought for an event and had recently been delivered to the home.
Three firefighters and two residents were injured in multiple explosions; two firefighters have been released, a third is undergoing hand surgery, and all five are expected to recover.
Neighbors said the homeowner had recently burned toxic material and drew prior complaints, while officials said the homeowners are cooperating with investigators.
Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue has launched a GoFundMe for the injured firefighters, and a separate fundraiser was set up for a family whose home was destroyed.