Scientists create ‘green’ firecrackers

NEW DELHI: Aweek ahead of Diwali, the Centre unveiled “green” crackers developed over a year by scientists in CSIR-NEERI. Though the Centre has sent the new technology, which would emit at least 15-30% less pollutants, to the licensing authority for approval, the green firecrackers would not hit the market any time soon.

The scientists have developed three types of firecrackers – named Swas, Star and Safal – after a year’s research. The commonly used pollution-causing chemicals – aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate and carbon – have either been removed or sharply reduced in the green crackers to reduce emissions by 15-30%. Unveiling the crackers with a demonstration, environment minister Harsh Vardhan said, “Firecrackers are synonymous with festivals and celebrations. This is why completely removing them suddenly is not feasible. Last year, at India International Science Congress in Chennai, I had thrown a challenge at our scientists to develop green crackers. They took it up and within a year they have brought us a solution.”

The “green” crackers have been tested for colour, smoke, brightness and particulate matter and are found to emit less smoke and noise. “The biggest factor is that they would be 25-30% cheaper to manufacture and manufacturers would not have to make any changes in their facilities,” said Harsh Vardhan. The government has sent the technology to Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, the licensing authority for this. When asked about the tentative time it would take to introduce “green” firecrackers with this technology in the market, Harshvardhan said, “It now depends on manufacturers. It cannot happen this Diwali but only later.”