Web Release Date: May 2,
Perchlorate Behavior in a Municipal Lake Following Fireworks Displays
and
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 919 Kerr Research Drive, Ada, Oklahoma 74820, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, P.O. Box 1198, Ada, Oklahoma 74821-1198, and College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma, 900 NE 10th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104
Received for review January 10, 2007
Revised manuscript received March 14, 2007
Accepted March 15, 2007
Abstract:
Perchlorate salts of potassium and ammonium are the
primary oxidants in pyrotechnic mixtures, yet insufficient
information is available regarding the relationship between
fireworks displays and the environmental occurrence of
perchlorate. Here we document changes in perchlorate
concentrations in surface water adjacent to a site of fireworks
displays from 2004 to 2006. Preceding fireworks displays,
perchlorate concentrations in surface water ranged from
0.005 to 0.081 
g/L, with a mean value of 0.043 g/L. Within
14 h after the fireworks, perchlorate concentrations
spiked to values ranging from 24 to 1028× the mean baseline
value. A maximum perchlorate concentration of 44.2
g/L was determined following the July 4th event in 2006.
After the fireworks displays, perchlorate concentrations
decreased toward the background level within 20 to 80 days,
with the rate of attenuation correlating to surface water
temperature. Adsorption tests indicate that sediments
underlying the water column have limited (<100 nmol/g)
capacity to remove perchlorate via chemical adsorption.
Microcosms showed comparatively rapid intrinsic perchlorate
degradation in the absence of nitrate consistent with the
observed disappearance of perchlorate from the study site.
This suggests that at sites with appropriate biogeochemical
conditions, natural attenuation may be an important
factor affecting the fate of perchlorate following fireworks
displays.
