Happy Diwali! Green Firecrackers On Trial But Availability, Awareness Level Poor

What Is 바카라�Green Firecrackers바카라�? Is There Such A Thing As An Environmentally Safe Firework?

• Firecrackers are made of highly toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium, aluminium, magnesium, nitrates, carbon, copper, potassium, sodium, zinc and manganese. These metals, released in the air when the firecracker explodes, can trigger an asthma attack, and cause severe headache and respiratory problems. They can also contribute to a chronic cough.

• A project led by the CSIR-NEERI has come up with green firecrackers, which will not contain, or have in reduced amounts, polluting chemicals such as aluminium, potassium nitrate and carbon. By doing so, the government claims, these fireworks will release 30 per cent less particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10 into the atmosphere. That means, emissions will come down by 15 to 30 per cent. Also, CSIR has developed flower pots/anaars that can reduce particulate matter by 40 per cent.

• The eco-friendly firecrackers are named Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL). These will release water vapour into the air as a dust suppressant and dilute gaseous emissions.

• These will not contain the banned substance barium, which is used as an agent to get the colour green. Barium can cause burns, poisoning and deaths.

• The CSIR-CEERI in Pilani is testing e-crackers or electric fireworks, though preliminary response from manufacturers is that it won바카라�t sound like the real thing, but like a recording of firecrackers played on a loudspeaker.

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The chest puffs up in excitement as the 바카라�rocket바카라� explodes in a ball of iridescent sparkles. Happy Diwali/Deepavali! Greetings are exchanged almost in a daze, gasping for oxygen, eyes smarting, shrouded in a haze of smoke as more missiles fly up into the night sky, and the irreverent 바카라�atom bomb바카라� splits the ears바카라�human and animal alike. And the incandescent 바카라�flower pot바카라� throws up another round of gaseous illumination. Who named that piece of irrepressible rudeness an 바카라�anaar바카라�? The sweet pomegranate is known for its anti-oxidant properties, never for causing harm to the lungs바카라�those air pumps working obediently, tirelessly from cradle to crib, unless obstructed by an anaar of 10 seconds of fame and flame.

How about an anaar바카라�QR-coded, government-certified environment-friendly바카라�manufactured with fewer harmful metals/chemicals and with reduced toxic emissions? Joking? Nah. This Diwali, the chest might cough a little easy바카라�thanks to health-friendly 바카라�green firecrackers바카라� and a slew of initiatives from the Supreme Court and Indian scientists. These release 30 per cent less particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) and lethal gasses. Their success on debut can be ascertained only after Diwali, though.

The move follows last year바카라�s Supreme Court intervention, spurring the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to direct its National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur to develop 바카라�green crackers바카라�. A team at NEERI바카라�comprising 24 scientists/res­earchers and helmed by Sadhana Rayulu바카라�took nine months to develop the first prototypes, followed by tests to produce India바카라�s first 바카라�green  fireworks바카라�. This Diwali, these would be tested by people.

The festival is around the corner, but there are not enough 바카라�green firecrackers바카라�. Raghav Sharma, a seller in Delhi, says: 바카라�Sales are sluggish at the moment. Most people are­n바카라�t aware of green crackers바카라�they look for cheaper varieties. A box of five environment-friendly anaars sells for around Rs 250.바카라� He adm­its that prices spiked in recent years, but sales are down. 바카라�Items sell when there is demand and products are available. When we get an inv­entory, we sell. The margins are good.바카라�

A licensed manufacturer, bound by an agreement of secrecy about details of a product바카라�s composition, and trained by NEERI, can make these new firecrackers. Following emission tests, the Petroleum and Safety Organisation (PESO) gives a final manufacturing licence. Thus far, only 160 manufacturers are on board. The number is a whimper considering the size of India바카라�s fireworks industry­바카라�worth Rs 20,000 crore (annual sales), but largely non-organised. That amount inc­ludes Rs 5,000 crore of Chinese products, market experts say, though possession and sale of imported fireworks are illegal.

Only a handful of companies are manufacturing 바카라�green firecrackers바카라�. These include Standard Fire­works, Vinayaga Industries, Balaji Fireworks, and Coronation Fireworks. In firecracker-manufacturing hub Sivakasi, just a few got licences. The area has 1,070 factories, employing around 300,000 people, while another 500,000 are involved in ancillary businesses such as boxing of firecrackers. A PESO official feels that more makers will come forward once the top court gives its decision on barium nit­rate. 바카라�They are waiting for more clarity.바카라�

The court had banned barium, which was common in anaars, chakras, rockets and phooljaris. 바카라�Almost all (the eco-friendly) products can be manufactured, but a few categories can come out only when the court gives its directions on barium (the chemical element used to produce the colour green). As we go ahead, we will have many variants and compositions developed by us and other six CSIR institutions,바카라� says NEERI director Rakesh Kumar.

The response has been welcoming. The eco-friendly route, if adopted properly, can make Siva­kasi a global producer, feels Ganesan Panjurajan, president of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association. 바카라�The industry along with NEERI is doing its best to design improved formulations, even smokeless firecrackers.바카라�

The hunt for fireworks emitting little or no smoke intensified over the past few years when Delhi and its neighbouring states were choked in a haze, primarily because of farmers burning paddy stalks to prepare their fields for the wheat crop around October-November. Plus, gases from Diwali fireworks, construction dust and vehicular exhaust exa­cerbated the crisis바카라�so much so that the government had to bring punishing measures such as fines for stubble-burning and a traffic formula that allows cars with odd and even lic­ence numbers to be on the roads on alternate days.

It바카라�s that time of the year, again. Memories of that smoke shroud ret­urns to haunt. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), which tracks pollution levels, put out the warning already. Delhi바카라�s air quality has plummeted to 바카라�poor바카라�. SAFAR director Dr Gufran Beig is hopeful that 바카라�green crackers바카라� will help reduce extreme pollution. He admits that the air can바카라�t be cleaned overnight, but steady progress is happening.

His words are reassuring, but another senior scientist says the government is in denial (not ack­nowledging the problem바카라�s enormity). So, scientists from top research institutions decided to keep their mouth shut. Yes, you read it right. There바카라�s also a media gag for scientists from the India Meteo­rological Department, allowing only its director to pick a spokesperson.

Scientists warn that 바카라�we are heading for a bigger disaster바카라�바카라�and a ban here, or a 바카라�green cracker바카라� there will not help. According to one, there is no eco-friendly firecracker as it will produce gases any­way, may be a little less. They allege that the government turns a blind eye to the scientific scenario they present바카라�a cold, data-driven picture바카라�while bureaucrats take decisions without consulting the experts.

And that picture is plain and clear. The topography of landlocked northern India is such that when the smoke from the burning farmlands rise and travel, it hits the Himalayas and ricochets to the plains, thereby circulating in a circular motion. There were instances of the smoke travelling up to the Brahmaputra basin and the Bay of Bengal, floating with the season바카라�s easterly. Had there been a sea nearby, it would have worked as a huge natural sink. But alas, our environment strategies are all at sea!