Pyrotechnics and their negative impacts - the roundtable meeting with Jan Topinka and scientists of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Yesterday, the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic, hosted an important roundtable meeting on the topic of “Pyrotechnics and their negative impacts”, organised by Member of Parliament Nina Nováková in cooperation with the Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný and the Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík. The meeting was based mainly on the expert statement of the Czech Academy of Sciences (AVEX), which deals in detail with the negative impacts of pyrotechnics on the population’s health and the environment. The authors and expert guarantors of this statement are Martin Pivokonský from the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the CAS, Petr Klusoň from the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the CAS and Táňa Závodná, a toxicologist from the IEM CAS, who was represented at the meeting by Jan Topinka, Chairman of the Commission for the Environment of the CAS and member of the Government Council for Sustainable Development. The Czech Academy of Sciences was represented by Vice-Chairman Zdeněk Havlas. All invited speakers and guests can be found in the official invitation (open in a new window – available only in Czech).

“The round table meeting aimed to collect views and opinions on the possible impacts of the use of pyrotechnics. Many people know that they can be harmful to domestic and wild animals and that injuries occur every year from amateur handling of ‘firecrackers’. In addition to strong warnings about the potential long-term effects on human health, experts from the Czech Academy of Sciences were present and noted the measurable impact on air quality. The consensus was on the need to regulate fireworks. The model for the best possible solution should be sought with sensitivity to nature, people and animals. At the same time, however, taking into account what can realistically work,” said Member of Parliament Nina Nováková from KDU-ČSL.

Read more in the official press release (open in a new window – available only in Czech).

Source: PR Department of KDU-ČSL