Do Fireworks Pollute the Bay?

Fireworks can cause significant pollution. They are often set off over water, because setting them off over land creates a risk of fire. Some communities ban them over lakes used as drinking water sources because of pollution concerns. After two Super Bowl fireworks shows over San Francisco Bay in 2016, several reports of fireworks pollution came in to Baykeeper’s Pollution Hotline. The morning after the first fireworks display, swimmers in the water at San Francisco’s Aquatic Park ran into significant plastic and cardboard debris.