National Fireworks Safety Month, June 1 - July 4th

Prevent Blindness America wants all
Americans to know the dangers of consumer
fireworks. The U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission reports the following
fireworks injury statistics:

• Fireworks devices were involved in an
estimated 9,200 injuries treated in U.S.
hospital emergency rooms in 2006 (the
latest year for which data is available).

• An estimated 6,400 injuries were treated
in hospital emergency rooms during the
one-month period (June 16-July 16)
surrounding the Fourth of July.

• Eyes were the second most commonly
injured part of the body, with an estimated
1,500 fireworks-related eye injuries treated
in the same one-month period of 2006.

• Firecrackers accounted for 20% of all
injuries followed by rockets (13%), and
sparklers (16%).

Sparklers caused the greatest number of

injuries in children 14 and younger,

followed by firecrackers and rockets.

• Of the 1,000 estimated sparkler injuries,

200 were to children age 5 and younger.

• 2,300 of the injuries were to children

under age 15.

• Data from the U.S. Eye Injury Registry

shows that bystanders are more often

injured by fireworks than operators

themselves.

• Contusions, lacerations and foreign bodies

were the most common injuries to eyes.

for more information go to www.preventblindness.org

taken from Prevent Blindness website.