The Pyrotechnics Industry

A Short Guide to Selected Resources

Business Reference Services
July 2004

Below are listed several selected sources for locating information on the pyrotechnics or fireworks industry. For information on the science of fireworks, see the links on the Library's Science Reference Services web page.

Online Resources       Print Resources

Online Resources

Fireworks: NOVA Online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fireworks/

Fireworks: NOVA Online is produced for PBS by the WGBH Science Unit. Wideranging site covering history and science of pyrotechnics, along with new high tech advances, Includes a teacher’s guide.

Pyrotechnics Guild International
http://www.pgi.org/PGIlinkjournals_assoc.htm

The site of Pyrotechnics Guild International, an independent worldwide nonprofit organization of amateur and professional fireworks enthusiasts. Site includes history of fireworks, fireworks safety guidelines, along with links to fireworks associations, journals, display operators, clubs, and manufacturers and distributors.

American Pyrotechnics Association
http://www.americanpyro.com/

According to its mission statement, the American Pyrotechnics Association, the major US fireworks trade association, encourages safety in the design and use of all types of fireworks, provides industry information, and promotes responsible regulation of the fireworks industry. The site includes links to state laws relating to the sale and use of fireworks, as well as links to other associations and US government agencies concerned with safety issues related to the manufacture, transportation, or use of fireworks, As announced on its website and that of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the APA partnered in June 2004 with the OSHA “to provide training and education on fireworks issues. The Alliance will help provide guidance and share APA's best practices for manufacturing, transportation, storage, sale, and use of commercial display fireworks, and the retail sale of consumer fireworks.”

“American Pyrotechnics Association Joins OSHA in Alliance.” News Release. June 9, 2004. U.S. Department of Labor . Occupational Safety and Health Administration
http://www.americanpyro.com/pdf/APA-OSHA_Alliance.pdf

Text of press release signed on June 9, 2004, by the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), creating a formal Alliance “to provide APA members and others with information, guidance and access to training resources to ensure workers’ safety and health when working with commercial display and consumer fireworks.”

OSHA Assistance for the Pyrotechnics Industry.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/pyrotechnic/index.html

US Dept. Of Labor. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
Developed as part of the newly established Alliance between the American Pyrotechnics Association and OSHA, the initial emphasis on these pages are on common hazards and solutions in the retail sale and display of pyrotechnics. Issues in the manufacture and transport of these devices are not currently addressed.

Print Resources

Explosives & pyrotechnics by Poject director, Teresa L. Hayes ; corporate researcher, Kelly Weinberger.
Cleveland, OH : Freedonia Group, Inc., 1998.
LC Call Number: HD9663.U62 E87 1998
LC Catalog Record: 2001316093

International fireworks trade directory. Dingmans Ferry, PA : American Fireworks News, c1995 - to date.
LC Call Number: HD9660.F52 I58
LC Catalog Record: 96648027

The illustrated dictionary of pyrotechnics by K.L. and B.J. Kosanke ; Ettore Contestabile, senior editor and contributor ; other contributors, Scot Anderson ... [et al.]. Whitewater, CO : Journal of Pyrotechnics, c1995.
LC Call Number: TP300 .K67 1995
LC Catalog Record: 2001515641

Safety of reactive chemicals and pyrotechnics by Tadao Yoshida, Yuji Wada, Natalie Foster, with the assistance of Bruce J. Thomson, Jinhua Peng, Yuhua Yu. Hann¯osei kagaku busshitsu to kak¯ohin no anzen. English Amsterdam : New York : Elsevier, 1995.
LC Call Number: T55.3.H3 Y6813 1995
LC Catalog Record: 95045227