{{short description|Pyrotechnic device}} '''M-100s''' are a class of powerful firecrackers commonly called salutes. thumb

==Description== M-100s consist of a cardboard tube {{nowrap|2{{frac|8}}"{{tsp}}×{{spaces}}{{frac|3|4}}"}}. Colors may vary. They contain 10{{spaces}}grams of flash powder that is ignited via a visco fuse positioned in the center or side of the tube.<ref name=atf>{{cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-illegal-explosive-devices|title=Fact Sheet - Illegal Explosive Devices|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=May 2019|website=atf.gov|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|access-date=2020-09-10}}</ref> In some cases, they are maxed out at 15{{spaces}}grams which is the physical limit for {{nowrap|2"{{tsp}}×{{spaces}}{{frac|3|4}}"}}. They are among the most common flash salutes put into use in the United States around 4 July. {{nowrap|M-100s}} are significantly more powerful than {{nowrap|M-80s}}, which contain 3 to 5{{spaces}}grams.

In the United States, M-100s are illegal to manufacture, possess, and sell without a proper license, and are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).<ref name=atf/> M-100s were first banned by the Child Protection Act of 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanpyro.com/banned-illegal-explosives|title=Banned Illegal Explosives |author=<!--Not stated-->|date=|website=americanpyro.com|publisher=American Pyrotechnics Association|access-date=2020-09-10}}</ref>

==Accidents== In 1983, an explosion at a secret unlicensed fireworks factory manufacturing {{nowrap|M-80}} and {{nowrap|M-100}} fireworks near Benton, Tennessee, killed eleven, injured one, and inflicted damage within a radius of several miles.<ref name=spokesman>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19830530&id=5O0vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6978,8211234 |title=Fireworks suspect charged with deaths |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May 30, 1983 |website=news.google.com |publisher=The Spokesman-Review |accessdate=April 19, 2013}}</ref> The operation was by far the largest-known illegal fireworks operation in US history, and the initial blast was heard as far away as {{convert|20|mi}} from the site.<ref name=spokesman/>

==See also== *M-80 (explosive) *Quarter stick

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Types of fireworks