New Delhi: The minister for health, science and technology Harsh Vardhan has claimed that less-polluting green firecrackers developed by eight labs led by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) lab in Nagpur are “no less illuminating or less attractive compared to the usual ones”, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.
Following the Supreme Court’s order on the ban of firecrackers in 2017, the ministry of science and technology commissioned scientists at CSIR to develop less-toxic firecrackers to provide safer alternatives. A team at NEERI, comprising of 24 scientists led by Sadhana Rayulu, took nine months to develop the first prototypes of the first ‘green fireworks’.
“I am happy to announce that we have green crackers with reduced emission by minimum 30%. These are environment-friendly. We had appealed to our scientists to come up with an alternative to the polluting firecrackers so that people’s sentiment are taken care of without harming the environment,” Harsh Vardhan said.
In 2019, the Supreme Court outlined specific norms and ordered the ban with restricted use to green crackers in a two-hour window between 8 pm ad 10 pm on Diwali. The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) then defined green cracker norms.
The green crackers developed by CSIR are low sound-and light-emitting firecrackers and aim to reduce emissions by at least 30% with no extra cost. All the packets of green crackers carry a green logo (QR coding). The green crackers also forgo the use of any of the chemicals banned by the Supreme Court like lithium, arsenic, lead and mercury according to the specifications issues by the PESO.
Also read: Closure of Cracker Factories Would Lead to Rs 16 Billion NPAs, Warns Industry
These crackers, called Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL), either release water vapour or air to suppress the dust particles generated upon explosion. The safe water releaser and the safe thermite cracker are free of potassium nitrate and sulphur thereby reducing sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emission by at least 30%. Safe minimal aluminium, which have minimal aluminium, lowers the particulate matter emission after lighting by at least 35%
“Tests have demonstrated that green crackers are no less illuminating or less attractive compared to the usual ones, children will not be disappointed,” Harsh Vardhan told the Hindustan Times.
The minister also said that with 230 MoUs and 165 NDAs signed with firework manufacturers, adequate quantities of the green crackers are expected to hit the markets before Diwali.
“The Supreme Court wanted a clear definition for awareness, legal and policy interventions, there were licencing and transfer-of-technology processes, and manufacturers had to be convinced, but now they are happily doing it. The (production) process is very actively on and the manufacturers and workers are happy. Firecrackers been in the country for hundreds of years and it’s a huge industry and the government has had to ensure not one job is lost,” Vardhan said, adding that the crackers were certified, with at least 530 emissions testing certificates being issued to fireworks manufactures.
The Petroleum and Safety Organisation (PESO) gives a final manufacturing licence after emission tests. At the moment, only a handful of companies including Standard Fireworks, Vinayaga Industries, Balaji Fireworks, and Coronation Fireworks are involved in manufacturing ‘green firecrackers’.
“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,” said NEERI director Rakesh Kumar.