FIREWORKS 1998:
"Operation Prevent Injury"
Does the slogan "Operation Prevent Injury" seem
familiar? If so, you were probably traveling the Border States of Illinois and Indiana during the Fourth
of July holiday last year. The distribution of brochures and display of signs and banners educated the public on
the dangers of illegal fireworks and the enforcement of laws to reduce the amount of illegal fireworks brought
into Illinois, especially Eastern Cook County.
The members of Operation Prevent Iniury (originally formed in 1997 by Calumet City
Fire Chief Daniel R. Georgevich) includes the ISPB. in cooperation with other Illinois
and Indiana law enforcement agencies,along with police, fire, the Cook
County Sheriffs Department and Bomb Sauad to
name iust a few. To our knowledge this is the largest group to combat fireworks in the country, and its
members increase yearly.
1998 Operation Prevent Injury Results
The results of the task force are worth noting here: Best effort ever to tackle problems of Indiana
fireworks being brought into Illinois;
- Best use of a coalition of public/private sector agencies;
- Education from distribution of brochures by the Illinois State Police
at toll plazas; at shopping malls;
at major interactions; and in other municipalities;
- Most supportive and positive media coverage in newspapers, radio and television (local and national)
- Confiscation of illegal fireworks amounting to
hundreds of thousands of dollars:
- Destruction
of illegal fireworks by detonation handled by the Cook County Bomb Squad;
- Support of legislation to outlaw billboards within Illinois that promote fireworks sales.
Illinois Annual Surveys
The ISPB conducted its 1998 Illinois Annual Fireworks Survey by contacting 220 hospital
emergency rooms and 618 ophthalmologists in Illinois. The results revealed that 68 percent of the eye-related
injuries were children and young adults under the age of 20 (same as in 1997). The percentages were as follows:
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under 11 years of age
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(10 percent) |
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aged 11 through 20
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(56 percent) |
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aged 21 through 41
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(34 percent) |
The ISPB survey also showed that 78 percent of those treated for fireworks eye injuries were
males with 22 percent unspecified. Injuries included hyphema, eyelid lacerations and
bums, foreign bodies, facial burns. Bottle rockets, roman candles, various types of
illegal fireworks and "punk" (novelties) continue to cause varying degrees of eye
and facial injuries.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal contacted 217 hospitals in Illinois in its 1998 survey. Its results
show that injuries to males were 76 percent compared to females at 23 percent (plus/minus
1 percent). Firecrackers caused the largest percentage (20 percent) of accidents, as was also the case in 1997. Burns were
the leading type of injury (47 percent), with injuries to fingers most common.
"Federal safety regulations, combined with an increased consumer awareness, are making the Fourth
of July Holiday safer than ever. However, explosive devices like M-80s and M-lOOs continue to be a
problem. Though banned since 1966, these illegal explosives still account for one-third of all Fourth of July
injuries" (National Council on Fireworks Safety, Inc.).
The Operatio Prevent.Injury Program will continue in 1999 to educate the public on the dangers
of illegal explosives.
The Visionary ,
published as a service of the Illinois Society for the Prevention of
Blindness,
is available upon request. The information contained
in this issue,
taken from sources considered to be
accurate,
does not replace the need for professional eye care
consultations and treatments.
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