SILENTY, or what silent fireworks are

FIREWORKS ARE NOT THE SAME AS FIRECRACKERS As pyrotechnicians, we encounter the mistaken use of the words firecrackers=fireworks every day. For many people, fireworks are synonymous with firecrackers, and thus with loud, bothersome noise, and this image is increasingly reflected in the media. However, this is a very harmful association for the entire field of pyrotechnics. Within the vast range of products that are fireworks, there is a predominant group that has little to do with noise. Remember that fireworks are above all beautiful, colorful cascades of various effects illuminating the sky. It is truly the art of painting pictures in the sky, known and loved by people around the world for thousands of years. SILENT FIREWORKS There has long been an entire segment of fireworks on our market classified as so-called SILENTS, meaning quiet fireworks. The best-known products in this group include sparklers, flares and torches, colored smokes, volcanoes and fountains, as well as a whole segment of so-called pyrogadgets like spinning tops, butterflies, bees, and others. In recent years, fireworks manufacturers have increasingly catered to users who do not like loud pyrotechnic effects, and the number of products with reduced sound levels continues to grow. In 2019, special product series appeared on our market, the so-called Animal Friendly/No sound fireworks—selected effects with a greatly reduced noise level in the form of aerial repeaters/batteries of sky effects. All leading importers such as Klasek, Jorge, Triplex, Piromax, and Tropic released products in this category. Although the number of products may not seem significant, it should be noted that this is more of a technological issue. For now, the number of effects that can be achieved while forgoing the sonic boom effect is simply very limited, although research is underway to develop these possibilities. HOW LOUD ARE FIREWORKS Despite ongoing advances in pyrotechnics and visible trends aimed at reducing noise levels in fireworks, it is worth noting that products to date—although they could be bothersome—have in fact not exceeded permissible noise standards. Every pyrotechnic product placed on the market in the European Union undergoes a series of tests to verify that it meets all safety standards, including permissible emitted noise levels. The permissible level for consumer fireworks is a MAXIMUM of 120 decibels, measured from the distance specified in the user instructions as the minimum distance from the product. Thus, if we use the product according to safety rules, the level of audible noise will NEVER exceed 120 dB. By comparison to everyday life: - 40 dB – normal conversation - 70 dB – a working vacuum cleaner - 100 dB – children during recess at primary school - 110 dB – a racing motorcycle When trying to find information about the noise generated by fireworks displays, you can find a lot of misleading data online. In several studies we even found values reaching 200 dB (!!!). This is an obvious falsehood with no basis in reality, used as an argument by opponents of fireworks against people who love aerial shows. Moreover, this year the Positive Emotions Foundation decided to conduct independent measurements during the Damy Ognia Pyrotechnic Festival in Wrocław. You can read the details of these studies (and more) here: https://fundacjapirotechnika.org/index.php/badania/. These studies clearly show that at no point did the noise level exceed permissible standards and, what’s more, for 95% of the time it fell within permissible noise levels for built-up areas, and the moments when this level was exceeded were impulsive (very rare, very brief). It is also worth mentioning that pyrotechnic shows accompanying us on weekends for most of the year usually last 2–7 minutes, and festival displays generally do not exceed 15 minutes. So is there really all that much to make a “noise” about...?