Source: Press Information Bureau
In a bid to resolve the crisis of air pollution, the Government launched green firecrackers.
What is green cracker?
The Supreme Court defined ‘green cracker’ as something that could be an improved formulation or an all-new formulation.
Key highlights
- Union Minister for Science & Technology announced that Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs have been successful in developing various environment-friendly fireworks such as sound-emitting crackers, flowerpots, pencils, chakkar and sparklers
- The Minister also highlighted that the emissions testing facilities for the new firecrackers have been set up at CSIR-NEERI as well as their approved National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration (NABL) facilities
- Further, a Raw Materials Compositional Analysis (RACE) facility has been launched in Sivakasi to facilitate manufacturers for testing their raw materials and chemicals.
- About 530 emissions testing certificates have been issued to fireworks manufactures for new and improved formulations meeting the stipulated guidelines of green crackers.
- To develop reduced emission/green fireworks, eight labs participated, CSIR-NEERI, CEERI, IITR, IICT, NCL, CECRI, NBRI, and CMERI, with CSIR NEERI coordinating the entire exercise.
- Firstly, for immediate improvement CSIR-NEERI developed improvements in conventional formulations based on Barium Nitrate to meet the stipulated norms of green crackers.
- The implementation of these formulations is subject to the approval of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
- CSIR-NEERI have also developed new formulations for reduced emission light and sound emitting crackers with 30% reduction in particulate matter.
- The Minister also mentioned that CSIR-NEERI along with Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) have also evolved a clear definition of green crackers with a view to educate the regulators and the public on ways and means to demarcate green crackers from conventional crackers.
- Apart from defining green crackers, baseline values for benchmarking green crackers and assessing Barium levels in conventional crackers and green crackers, have been laid down for legal and policy interventions.
- He also informed that a green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed for the differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers. QR codes are a novel feature incorporated on the firecrackers to avoid the manufacture and sale of counterfeit products. This will also help the consumers to track the cracker using smartphones and other devices.
