Independence Day is rapidly approaching, and with that the sales of fireworks are rapidly escalating. Safety is of the utmost importance when shooting off fireworks. Here are some interesting statistics regarding fireworks in the United States.

According to the American Pyrotechnics Association and the National Council on Fireworks Safety, $940 million will be spent on fireworks this year in the United States. In a statistic that surprises me somewhat, people purchase some 213.2 pounds of fireworks each year.

As far as injuries are concerned, 3.5 people are injured per 100 pounds of fireworks used. On the average there are 4 fatalities caused by fireworks each year in America and 9,300 people are injured each year from them.

Of the injuries incurred, 45% of them are suffered by children. Some 400 people suffer the loss of sight in one or both eyes as a result of fireworks. Some 40% of the fireworks detonated are illegally obtained. Fireworks cause some 20-thousand fires in America as well.

Of all the injury incidents, 32% were from firecrackers, 15% from sky rockets and 10% were from sparklers. The rest were from other devises.

Enjoy your fireworks but please be careful. The number mentioned above needs to go down not up.

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