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Brendan Barnes
Dr. Guenzel
ENC 1102 0M12
March 16, 2015
Research Dossier: Disneys Destructive Fireworks
Dossier Introduction:
Disney turns in millions upon millions of dollars annually with their
firework shows, however with such a large team of scientists, engineers, and
problem solvers; the company of Walt Disney World shows minimal to no
effort in curing and solving the problems that they cause upon the
environment. Is the rapidly increasing revenue of Disney enough to
overpower all of the negative aspects and destruction their fireworks cause
on buildings, wildlife, and surrounding animals?
With a heavy passion for fireworks, and the love for math, engineering,
and chemistry in my blood, fireworks seemed like the route to go when asked
to do further research on an issue you were interested in. While fireworks are
beautiful to look at and very enjoyable, like anything else, they have their
drawbacks. The negative aspects of fireworks seem to go unnoticed by
many, and its a shame due to the fact that they might slowly be polluting
and destroying the place we live in. Places like Disney turn such a high profit
to the point where it might even outweigh the harm it does to us. With two to
five shows a night, Disney holds these beautiful light shows year round for

millions to enjoy yearly. These millions, however most likely dont know how
bad these fireworks could truly be depending on the chemicals they are
made with. Chemists and engineers around the world are in laboratories
working to create solutions to the
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problem, while environmentalists are working to boycott and eliminate the
fireworks as a whole. Tourists and Disney enthusiasts are just the fuel to the
fire; as they feed their money to Disney so they can keep having these
shows regardless of the effects. It would be beneficial to look into the
hazards regarding fireworks so those who dont realize it can now be better
informed about the environment, Disney, and how they cope with the
problems that come along with their firework displays.
I have noticed overall from my research that there are
environmentalists that have an extreme view on the topic of fireworks, and
engineers, on the other hand, with a total opposing view to them. In addition
to the two most notable perspectives towards keeping the fireworks around,
for (engineers and chemists), and against (environmentalists and pollution
experts), there is a third perspective I have noticed, and that is those who
simply dont care and are unaware of whats going on. They are there for the
enjoyment and are either unaware of the effects of fireworks or simply arent
effected by the outcome enough to pay attention to it. My first two sources
are from chemistry and engineering firms,. Process Safety and
Environmental Protection is a chemical engineering research center and

Science World is a magazine reporting company posting about solutions on

behalf of engineers and researchers. Both Process Safety and Environmental
Protection and Science World talk about ways of using nano particles to
safely use fireworks, and discussing ways to make fireworks go green. My
second two sources are from online and physical news reporting companies
posting with bias leaning towards environmentalists and pollution control
groups. Both People.com and The Guardian from London, England create
conversation about how fireworks should be outlawed due to their negative
impacts and give information on instances where fireworks have singed rides
and
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buildings resulting in millions of dollars in damage. NewsTrack and Morgan
ORourke from Risk Management have created news articles with bias on
behalf of the average Disney tourist. They create sarcasm that
overexaggerates the issue and give facts that support the popular opinion
that the downsides of the fireworks are not enough for Disney to have to
change them or get rid of them.
So far my research has lead me to build conclusions that there are
more than several scientists looking to form more green options for
fireworks. With examples of news articles regarding mistakes and accidents
caused by fireworks I now am more certain on my argument that fireworks
are not only causing pollution, but actual physical damage to properties.
Disney has several instances when their display shows have gone wrong

according to two of my lead sources. One of my sources is a risk

management company and they even exclaim about how many complaints
and insurance violations Walt Disney World has gone through because of the
countless hazards to their fireworks. The most important source in my
opinion comes from a scientist who is looking into new particles and
launching methods to clean up the use of fireworks. Just because something
from the show goes wrong, doesnt mean that everything is okay. Every show
given is slowly releasing more harmful particles, compounds, metals, and
debris into the air that is building up and destroying the environment. A.
Azhagurajan from Process Safety and Environmental Protection exclaims that
it is urgent that scientists and engineers act now on a sufficient solution
before the issue becomes incurable.

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Research map
Initial Research Questions:

Do fireworks rake in enough money and enjoyment for viewers so that their
negative impacts on properties, wildlife, and the environment are then
overlooked?

What experience does Walt Disney World have with this problem and what
are they doing to eventually solve it?

At the beginning of my research I figured that an interview with my

brother would be very relevant to the topic. My brother has a masters
degree in civil engineering with tons of knowledge regarding environmental
aspects of engineering. He has valuable knowledge in the subject area and
his input could be of a huge advantage to my argument. His opinion was
very important to me however due to distance constraints and lack of time
we ever spend together it is so far unknown whether our interview about
fireworks can ever take place.

Field Research - Interview with brother

Library - use of online library however no documented sources
Internet - 6 sources regarding each perspective of firework use

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Keywords:
Walt Disney World
Pollution
Biochemistry

Environmental and Civil Engineering

Ecosystem
Propellants
Gun Powder
Sulfur & Phosphorous

Timetable:
MARCH
1
8
15

22
29

2
3
9
10
16 Dossie 17 Peer

4
11
18

5
6
12
13
19 Dossier 20

7
14
21

r Draft

Review

Final Draft Revision

Due

Workshop

Due

Research

26

Proposal
27 RR 17 28

1
23 RR 16 24
30
31

25

Analysis
Draft
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APRIL
1

2 RR 18
Peer
Review

Workshop

12

6 Pitch

2
9 Draft 1

TED Talk

Research

Analysis

Paper

Final Draft
13 Peer
14 Worksh
Review

15

16

10

11

17

18

24

25

op Draft 2

Research

19

26

Paper
20 Draft 3 21 Peer

22

23 Final

Research Review

Draft

Paper

Research

27 Self

Draft 3

28

29

Paper
30

Assessme
nt and
Extra
Credit
Opportunit
y

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Annotated Bibliography

Azhagurajan, A., and N. Selvakumar. "Impact Of Nano Particles On Safety And

Environment For Fireworks Chemicals." Process
Safety & Environmental Protection:
Transactions Of The Institution Of
Chemical Engineers Part B 92.6 (2014): 732738. GreenFILE. Web.15 Mar.
2015.
The author for this source is very credible because they are the head of the
department of mechanical engineering at a university in India. The author
makes a claim of using nano particles and mixtures to ensure that the
environment doesnt get polluted. With proof from lab experiments and
various chemical compositions his solution could work. Normal fireworks use
certain combinations of chemicals to make certain visual or audio effects,
however using a nano sized particle could deplete the amount of pollution
released from them. When it comes to bias, he has more of a scientific view
on the issue. He is taking the side and has a perspective similar to that of
other chemists and engineers where he is looking for a solution to the
problem. The scientific filter on his view of this topic gives him a scientific
bias in a way because he is only giving his point of view on the issue.
Disney World ride singed by sparks from fireworks. UPI
NewsTrack 2014: General
Reference Center Gold. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
This article happens to be a news article written by United Press
International, therefore there is no single author who put forth their ideas.
The bias in the news clip, if anything, is directed against Disney. After all,
they are reporting something that would make Disney look bad. Constant
posting of accidents happening on Disneys behalf will give them a bad
reputation. This news clip is no longer than 60 seconds and discusses the
effects of a firework show on a building owned by Disney. The roof of The
Journey of the Little Mermaid was ignited as a result of a piece of ash
falling from fireworks. The source says that no one was injured however
going by the article this little incident may have cost them a serious chunk of
cash as well as some unwanted media attention.
Disney World's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Fire Caused By Magic Kingdom
Fireworks. People.Com (2014): N.PAG. Publisher Provided Full Text
Searching File.
Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
This article is extremely biased against Disney. The authors on the team of
People.com go out of their way to say how Disney has become less
magical after a fire broke out on one of their rides. They wanted to make it
known to their audience that Disney has messed up. The article is a news
article talking about how a fire broke out on the mine train ride due to a
falling ember from their fireworks show. They made sure to alert the
audience that no one was injured and everyone was safe, however the ride

was shut down. With an annoyed Disney audience and hefty cost of
rebuilding it is certain that no Disney manager was pleased with this firework
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malfunction. The authors are credible because they are writing from a
publisher company and they are simply informing and relaying facts that are
true.
Goudarzi, Sara. "Rethinking fireworks: scientists are developing fireworks
that will wow
you without harming the environment." Science
World 2011: 12. Academic OneFile. Web 15 Mar. 2015.
After an initial skim, there was no evidence of bias anywhere. However after
giving it a good reading the author(s) are very bias against the fireworks.
They might be either environmentalists or people who just are not fans of
Disney fireworks, making their information partially skewed against Disney.
The article constantly talks about how neighbors of Disney were complaining
about awful odors of sulfur, and undesirable smoke clouds hovering near
their house. Overall the message the article gives off to the reader is how
badly Disney needs to start working on fireworks to ensure the safety of the
environment. The authors are credible because they are copyrighted to
Scholastic and the information comes directly from a learning institution.
O'Rourke, Morgan. "Disney fireworks go green." Risk Management 2004:
9. Academic
OneFile.Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Morgan ORourke is a notable writer for a Risk and Management insurance
company, ensuring his credibility on the topic. Once again, Morgan is strictly
talking about history and complaints of people form the past that his
company has had to deal with in relation to Disney so there is no bias in what
he has to say. His information is completely credible because it is known
information from his company and the history of it. It is noted that there were
72 complaints regarding ash, smoke, odor, and destruction of debris around
the area of Disney. Solutions to this untamed problem are also given in the
article including ideas like air and chemical substitutes to fix everything that
has been happening.
What effect do fireworks have on the environment? If they are
harmful, shouldn't their sale be restricted?." The Guardian (London,
England) 2009: General Reference Center
Gold. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
The Guardian is a news station and publishing company based out of London,
England with branches in the United States. Their firm has been awarded The
Pulitzer Prize and has credible knowledge and news articles that are up to
date and read daily by English and American citizens. In their article about
effects of fireworks on the environment, they talk about the touchy topic of
banning fireworks. They talk about how firework use a ridiculous amount of

toxic metals that can pollute nearby air for up to four days. They also
proceed to mention how a firework can be related to a toxic cocktail and
how bad it is for the pollution of the environment. The bias seems to be a
tossup. They never really regard if the enjoyable show is in fact worth all of
the damage it causes; however, the authors seem to be leaning towards
saying that all of the pollution and toxicity in the environment is not worth it.
Overall they are not too bias against fireworks, but rather informing the
reader to be on the lookout for these harmful metals and toxins.