The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the federal agency that establishes the standards for Consumer Fireworks that can be sold to and used by the general public. These types of fireworks must meet the federal requirements for size, weight, composition and configuration as well as fuse burn time and other factors. They also must be properly labeled for consumer use with the appropriate instructions and warnings.

CPSC Consumer Fireworks are usually classified for transportation purposes by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) as UN0336, 1.4g (the old Class C) and were formerly known as Common Fireworks. Thus the frequently, but erroneously used term "Class C". For more details, see Fireworks Definitions Page.

Each state can establish their own requirement s for what is permissible to possess and use in their state by their state residents. See What is Legal.

Any adult can buy and use all the various types of CPSC at any time of the year in all 50 states with the proper licenses and/or permits. See How to get a Permit for more info on this.

The CPSC also surveys a sample of US hospitals for injury data on over 15,000 products through their National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Every year the CPSC issues their reports with these estimates based on the samples. These estimates are then reported in the media for the various products' seasons such as Christmas trees, Christmas lights and toys, Holloween costumes, bicycles, ATVs, etc.

The CPSC takes a particular interest in fireworks, holding a press conference at The Mall in Washington, DC every June. At this press conference they site their recent estimates and often their latest report (fireworks is one of the few products out of the 15,000 that gets this much attention). They also show off a mannequin with a dress that they then ignite with a half dozen sparklers, blow the hand off of another mannequin with a banned M-80, and then blow up a watermelon with another banned M-80, all making great TV and color photos for the papers.

They also take great pains to leave out significant facts like:

• the majority of the injuries involving fireworks are from misuse
• approximately 40% of the fireworks related injuries do not come from Consumer Fireworks but from the large explosive devices like M-80s, cherry bomb, etc. (banned since the 1966 Child Protection Act), homemade or altered fireworks and display fireworks
• the majority of the injuries, including the most serious, involve those large banned explosive devices like M-80s, cherry bomb, etc
• the majority of the injuries are reported from hospitals in states and cities the ban or restrict the use of consumer fireworks
• and only 1% of the reported injuries involve product malfunction

It gets plenty of press and of course the medical, fire, safety and children's advocacy groups pick this up and regurgitate it to the media as well, who dutifully report the omnipresent danger these official government reports make fireworks out to be.

However, these estimates are just that ….. estimates. The CPSC does not provide their own NEISS Product & Summary Report that contains the warnings and explanations of how reliable this data is when they hold their press conference to the media. The other advocacy groups also conveniently ignore it as well, even though they all know about it and the significance of it.

They all also ignore how few actual reports they get and how such a small sample makes it difficult, if not impossible to put much significance to these estimates. This is especially true when one state, New York, accounts for over 30% of the actual reports year after year, and this state bans everything including sparklers!

Such a demographic anomaly must be carefully reviewed before taking this many reports and extrapolating an estimate for the entire country and standing up in front of the cameras claiming they are accurate.

Here are the NEISS Fireworks-related Injury Estimates and the actual number of injuries reported in the NEISS sample hospitals over the last 17 years. You will note that even with an increase in the sample of 18% because of the 1990 change in the survey sample, the estimate was relatively steady and then continued to decline.

In particularly the well-meaning medical, fire, safety and children's groups blatantly ignore the main warning, "Therefore it is incorrect when using NEISS data, to say he injuries were caused by the product".

The CPSC has also published a report called CPSC Success Stories that is also available on the Net that shows the injury rate per 100,000 pounds of fireworks has declined over the past 20 years. Here is an article, CPSC Success Stories - Effective Regulation: Estimates of risk of injury per 100,000 pounds of fireworks lowest ever, about this report for the June 1997 Fireworks Business.

So here is the bottom line. More people are enjoying more Consumer Fireworks than ever before in more states (40 of the 50 states now allow some or all Consumer Fireworks) and the injuries related to people using them is lower than ever before. Now that is cause for a party! Any got a roll of celebration crackers and some punk?

Revised July 17, 1998