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Chemical test of firecrackers in Mumbai shows presence of hazardous metals
Awaaz study reveals presence of ‘extremely dangerous’ metals and other oxides
A chemical analysis and heavy-metal test for different firecrackers available for sale this Diwali found the presence of hazardous metals or metal oxides that are unsafe to humans as none of them are environment-friendly.
City-based environment group Awaaz Foundation tested 36 types of crackers in a private laboratory, which were originally tested for noise and air pollution by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on October 24, and compared their chemical composition.
On October 23, the Supreme Court (SC) passed an order directing all states to use ‘green’ firecrackers for a stipulated time of two hours. On Wednesday, the apex court modified its order by allowing all states, except the National Capital Region, could use existing stock of firecrackers this Diwali but the time limit persisted.
The tests found that of the 36 firecrackers, hazardous metals such as lead was detected in 14 firecrackers, the use of which has been banned by the SC. An order by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) from August 10 last year, accessed by HT, based on a SC directive read, “All the fireworks manufacturers are advised to strictly comply with SC orders and no fireworks shall be manufactured which contain antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead in any form whatsoever.”
While three other crackers had chromium, metal oxides such as sulphur trioxide was present in all 36 crackers, phosphorus pentoxide in 18, and vanadium pentoxide in 22.
All these metals and their oxides are listed under schedule I Part II of a list of hazardous and toxic chemicals under the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules 1989, a notification passed by the union environment ministry under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 (see box for complete list).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies lead as one of the top 10 most dangerous chemicals. The report however, did not identify the percentage of metal or metal oxide in overall composition in each firecracker. The results for a separate test to detect mercury levels will be released by Awaaz as a second part to this study.
Chemicals and metals are added to firecrackers for their light-producing qualities and released into the air when firecrackers containing them are burst.
“Various metals identified under the study are hazardous with significant adverse health effects and contribute to air pollution when crackers are burst,” said Sumaira Abdulali, convener, Awaaz Foundation that wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and various state government officials highlighting the study and requesting the state to safeguard the health of citizens.
In 2015, Awaaz had conducted a similar study that found the presence of mercury, carbon, sulphur and lead in various firecrackers.
Abdulali added that as per a SC court order from 2005 all firecrackers were directed to publish their chemical constituents on the box post manufacture. “We found that only four chemicals on an average were published per box, and hazardous chemicals were left out,” she said.
After HT shared the report with scientists, they said that these metals take the form of suspended particulate matter after combustion. “Toxic emissions from crackers that have all the metal oxides mentioned in this (Awaaz’s) study are extremely dangerous, for children and senior citizens,” said D Saha, scientist and former additional director, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). “PESO has no mechanism in place to detect and deter the use of such firecrackers that are openly being sold in the market. Respective state governments need to bring this to their notice.”
“Phosphorous, lead and mercury are poisonous, but a firecracker can only be declared hazardous after understanding the exact percentage and quantity of chemicals present in it,” said Gufran Beig, project director, System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
On October 24, MPCB’s pre-diwali firecracker testing operation along with Awaaz Foundation found two series crackers including the 5,000 series emitting 111.3 decibels (dB) and chain-crackers 10,000 emitting 113.2 decibels (dB) that violated noise and air pollution norms. MPCB recommended they be banned to PESO. Over 42 crackers were tested and the rest were witnessed to fall between 75-92 dB.
