Expired Pyrotechnic Flares and Their Impact on the Environment and Your Health
When asked, most boaters will admit to either keeping their expired flares on board their boats as backups, or they store them off-site, maybe in a garage or shed. Some boaters, however, have been known to discard these dangerous flares in a regular trash can, or some even throw them overboard into the water… The seeping of toxic chemicals from pyrotechnic flares into the soil or groundwater should concern us all. Perchlorates, for example, are a common ingredient in many pyrotechnic flares…reduces the thyroid’s ability to take up iodine, which reduces thyroid hormone production and results in hypothyroidism
