Last week I had the pleasure of attending The APA “winter educational conference” in Las Vegas, NV. Each year the APA hosts this event to help members brush-up and work on regulatory issues that face the pyrotechnic industry. A particularly noteworthy presentation was given by Dr. Christopher Musto, the Lead Chemist for The CPSC“Explosives Testing and Heavy Metal Detection” division. Dr. Musto has been working on a more objective replacement to the totally subjective (and infamous) “ear test”. For those of you who aren’t aware, the “ear test” has traditionally been one of CPSC’s primary methods for determining whether or not a consumer firework is “overloaded” (over the legal pyrotechnic limit). Basically, a member of the CPSC would listen to a firework and make a totally subjective decision as to whether or not it required further testing. It’s easy to see how inaccurate this test could be (and how frustrating it’s been), given the fact that it employs no scientific method. Thankfully, Dr. Musto is on the job and I’m glad to see his enthusiasm for fireworks! During his research, Dr. Musto wanted to look inside a 3″ display shell without damaging it’s structural integrity.  Thankfully, he had access to a CT scanner that’s usually used by the CPSC to scan household appliances for internal electrical issues. These may be the only X-ray images of a display shell in existence! Totally cool!