02. 12. 2025
Reading time: 3 minutes
On December 1, an amendment to the law on pyrotechnic products came into force, significantly tightening the sale and use of fireworks. Only products in category F1 remain unrestricted, such as sparklers and firecrackers, which can be sold to persons aged 15 or older. Other pyrotechnics are only available to persons over 18, and products in higher categories will soon require special authorisation. The amendment also prohibits the setting off of pyrotechnics in the vicinity of healthcare and social care facilities, shelters, or buildings with farm animals.
Toxicologist Táňa Závodná appeared on Studio 6 (open in a new window – only available in Czech) and the evening news programme Události yesterday, commenting on the health risks associated with emissions from the fireworks.
Recreational pyrotechnics represent a specific type of air pollution. In order to achieve colourful effects, pyrotechnic products contain substances that are not commonly found in other sources of pollution, such as oxidising agents and various metals (barium, strontium, magnesium, titanium, rubidium, etc.). When fired, they produce ultrafine particles that are a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair and can penetrate deep into the lungs and cells, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, or increased stress on the body.
Táňa Závodná also highlighted that in places with a high concentration of fireworks – typically in large cities – there are regular short-term smog episodes during which the air pollution reaches its highest levels for the entire year.
Another risk is the transfer of toxic substances into soil and water. Nanoparticles and other substances settle on the soil surface, playgrounds, and gardens, and can subsequently penetrate the surface and groundwater. Many of these substances are also persistent, remaining in the environment for a long time.
More information about the toxic effects of fireworks can be found in the expert statement (open in a new window – only available in Czech) by the Czech Academy of Sciences.
