Residing exactly one mile from the Salt Lake Bees home stadium, one wonders if the main attraction is professional baseball or a place to frequently see fireworks.
One may not be shocked to see them maybe once or twice a season — perhaps during July 4th and maybe even Pioneer Day — but well into September, on two Fridays, Sep. 8 and 22, there were fireworks shows.
Around Pioneer Day there was not one, but fireworks shows for three nights in a row. Seemingly there is no limit or logic as to the frequency of these events.
For some, the move to a new stadium in 2025 can’t happen soon enough. This includes people in the Ballpark neighborhood who not only want relative peace but also a reprieve from the considerable negative air quality impacts that emanate from fireworks.
It’s unknown whether Bees fans realize that fireworks constitute a tangible threat to their health, but for the people in the immediate vicinity of the ballpark there is no option to avoid this threat.
Fireworks blast a toxic stew for miles into the air and scientists at the University of Birmingham and the Boston Health Effects Institute have found that the average concentration of particulate matter (PM) in the environment increases up to eight times during and immediately after fireworks in celebrations.
An air quality survey of 315 locations in the United States in 2015 after the Independence Day celebrations found that PM2.5 rose from 42% to 370% during the demonstrations.
This is an area that already is in violation of air quality standards for several criteria pollutants.
The frequency of these events may cause one to question whether Bees management cares about the health of their fans and neighbors.
Joel Ban, Salt Lake City
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