Rama Krishna Sangem
The Supreme Court has given a nod to green firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) between October 18 and 21. The court ordered to restrict the use of green crackers between 6 am – 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm on the day before Diwali and the day of Diwali. But what are green crackers and how are they any better than regular firecrackers?
Developed by CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), green firecrackers have a reduced shell size, use less raw materials, and are made without ash.
Additionally, it uses additives as dust suppressants to reduce emissions, including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Toxic metals in traditional crackers are replaced with less hazardous compounds.
But, what are these Green Crackers?
According to a paper published by CSIR-NEERI, traditionally used heavy metal-based compounds are the major source of fireworks pollution which causes health and environmental concern.
However, green crackers control emission with usage of multifunctional additives like zeolite and iron oxide along with reduced usage of chemicals in the manufacturing of crackers.
Are they less polluting?
Yes, these green crackers are at least 30 per cent less pollutants, compared to the regular crackers we burst. Both green crackers and traditional crackers cause pollution. The only difference is that green crackers cause 30 per cent less air pollution or particulate matter, according to the CSIR-NEERI.
Particulate Matter or PM is a collective name for all the particles present in the air. It is classified into four categories on the basis of size – PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and ultra-fine particulate matter. The smaller the particle size, the higher the penetration of it will be in our body.
Types Of Green Crackers: SWAS (Safe Water and Air Releaser): These emit very fine water droplets that absorb dust. SAFAL (Safe Minimal Aluminium): These contain a safe amount of aluminum and are quieter. STAR (Safe Thermite Cracker): These do not contain potassium nitrate or sulfur, so they emit very little smoke
