Go Green This Diwali! Replace Your Traditional Firecrackers with Green crackers
Bursting Green crackers can save you from a jail term and penalty. Here you will learn how.
During the festival of Diwali, the use of firecrackers has always been prominent. With Diwali around the corner, many states and union territories with low air quality indexes have banned the bursting of crackers with a penalty in case of an order violation.
Effect of bursting traditional crackers
Bursting crackers can lead to noise pollution, and it is hazardous for our environment as well as for our health. Bursting crackers lead to an increased quantity of dirty pollutants in the air which can affect our respiratory system.
Poisonous air and pollution of crackers lead to several problems:
1. It Can cause problems with breathing.
2. It Can affect our eyes and other parts of the body.
3. It Can affect our hearing power.
So, this Diwali, don’t burst crackers; be safe and celebrate green Diwali with your family.
Want to burn crackers? – gear up for a Jail-tour
This time bursting crackers in the national capital not only comes with a fine but can even land you in jail. In a press conference, Environment Minister Gopal Rai informed that bursting of crackers could attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200. Section 9B of the Explosives Act also stipulates that the production, storage, and sale of crackers in Delhi will be punishable by a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail. Since September, the city government has prohibited the production, sale, and use of any type of firecracker, including on Diwali, until January 1.
Why choose green crackers over Traditional ones?
While Delhi has banned the sale and bursting of fireworks, some states encourage people to use green crackers instead of traditional ones. Punjab, Haryana, west Bengal, and Tamil Nādu have permitted a few hours for bursting green firecrackers.
Underlining the advantages of green crackers, the central and state governments insist that people use green crackers instead of traditional ones. Green firecrackers are low-emission crackers like Sulphur nitrates, arsenic, magnesium, sodium, lead and barium.
The Council developed them for Scientific and Industrial Research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 2018. It emitted 30% fewer pollutants than regular crackers. One has to look for the CSIR NEERI logo on the fireworks packaging to purchase green crackers.
Green crackers are termed as less pollutant when compared to traditional ones as low-emission crackers. In green crackers, a low thermite content and aluminium are used at a minimum, and barium compounds are not used to get the green colour.
Instead, potassium nitrate is used as an oxidant in green crackers. However, both green and traditional crackers cause pollution.
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Green crackers are also said to cause less noise pollution. Green crackers have a sound level of 110-125 decibels, whereas regular crackers emit 160 decibels.
In India, there are three types of green crackers- SWAS, STAR, and SAFAL. All these are different from each other in terms of features and benefits.
The firecrackers under SWAS (Safe water releaser) category release water vapour in the air, which helps suppress the dust removed.
The firecrackers under STAR (Safe Thermite cracker) category features reduced sound intensity.
SAFAL (Safe Minimal aluminium) crackers are produced with minimum usage of Aluminum and are less noisy than traditional crackers.
In the retail market, all the green crackers come with the mark of CSIR. It’s said to be developed with alternative raw materials, which are less harmful to the environment. However, green and traditional crackers cause pollution and people should refrain from bursting.
