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Injuries
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) monitors a sample of hospital rooms and produces annual injury estimates associated with a number of consumer products based upon the injuries that are recorded on these selected hospitals. Using this data, CPSC estimates that 9,600 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries in 2004.
CPSC emphasizes that estimates are based on injuries relating to fireworks, but it is incorrect to say that injuries were caused by the product. Also, the figure covers injury reports associated with all types of fireworks, including accidents involving homemade items and large, illegal explosive devices.
In 1976, CPSC enacted national standards for family-type fireworks in response to a petition calling on CPSC to ban all fireworks except for licensed public displays. All fireworks now legally available for sale to consumers must comply with the CPSC rules. Since the adoption of these regulations, the amount of fireworks used each year has doubled, suggesting that the injury rate in terms of injuries per one million pounds of fireworks ignited has declined significantly.
A recent report prepared by CPSC analyzed injury data collected over a seven year period. The study concluded, "In instances where legal types of fireworks were involved in accidents, either from misuse or malfunction, the resulting injuries were relatively minor and did not require hospitalization." The CPSC study also noted that a majority of the injuries from the "consumer" or family-type fireworks involved misuse rather than malfunction.
Illegal fireworks continue to be a serious problem. Over the past 10 years, 30-33 percent of the injuries associated with fireworks have typically been caused by illegal explosives or homemade fireworks.
Today's consumer fireworks are primarily noted from their beautiful visual effects rather than explosive noise. With the enactment of rigid safety standards for consumer fireworks, a safe, enjoyable backyard fireworks display is now possible.
Fireworks Safety Test
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- Answers
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