Impact of Fire Crackers

“DEEPAVALI”

“Deep (light) avali (rows), a row of lights that taught us to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge”.

But Diwali today means….

• More ‘air, noise, water, land & social’ pollution due to use of lots of fire-crackers.

• More patients for hospitals during & after the festival, more darkness rather than light.

Facts about bursting crackers

• An increase in air pollution by six to ten times on Diwali in terms of SPM, nitrogen Oxides (Nox), sulphur dioxide (SO2), etc.

• An increase in noise pollution above 125 decibel (dB), which is above the tolerable limits, and can cause deafness.

• An increase in incidents of respiratory diseases such as acute bouts of asthma, bronchitis and heart attacks.

Highly polluting nature of these firecrackers

lead to a plethora of diseases…

Pollutants Can Lead to…

Suspended Particulate Matter Asthma, cancer, restrictive lung diseases, pneumoconiosis

Respirable Particulate Matter Respiratory illness (chronic bronchitis and asthma), heart diseases

Sulphur Dioxide(SO2) Eye burning, headache, respiratory problems like pulmonary emphysema, cancer, heart diseases

Nitrous Oxides Lung irritation, chest tightness, viral infection, airway resistance

Harmful effects of Chemicals used in crackers

Let's do a little analysis of crackers and list out in actual terms the harmful effects posed by each of its chemicals.

Air Pollution through Firecrackers

For most people lighting of firecrackers is the highlight of Diwali. Brighter the sparkles, louder the noise the greater the thrill!! In fact to many of us, these aesthetic forms of light seem so appropriate and most essential when celebrating the 'Festival of Lights'.

But little do people realize that in our increasingly populated and polluted cities, the temporary joy of watching the firecrackers is soon replaced by the intense air pollution caused by these. The toxic substances used in the firecrackers release toxic gases that are harmful to the health of all living beings. The high level of noise generated by the crackers cause immense suffering to birds and animals. Besides, Diwali crackers are dreaded by the sick and the ailing.

Sadly, few of us realize that the firecrackers used on Diwali are mostly made by very young children. Since the substances being handled are extremely toxic many of these child laborers get sick and die in their early teenage years.

We can contribute by following certain things like…

WE CAN HAVE A CRACKERS SHOW FOR 2 HOURS IN A COMMON PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN SEE AND ENJOY THE CRACKERS, INSTEAD OF EACH DOING AT THEIR HOME IN A SMALL WAY AND MAKING THE WHOLE CITY DUSTY WITH PAPERIF IN A COMMON PLACE .

(1)THE SOUND WILL BE ONLY FOR A PARTICULAR TIME(2) THE PAPER DUST WILL BE ONLY IN ONE PLACE(3) THE COST OF DIVALI CELEBRATIONS CAN BE REDUCED(4) NO NEIGHBOURS ENVY(5) ONLY A LITTLE OF AIR AND SOUND POLLUTION(6) CAN BE HAD IN A PLACE FAR FROM HOSPITALS(7) SAFE MEASURES CAN BE ENSURED IN THAT PLACE(8) MONITERING OF THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE IS EASY(9) ENJOYMENT CAN BE SHARED BY ALL AT THE SAME PLACE(10) A GET-TOGETHER IS EASY

HAVE A HAPPY &

SAFE DIWALI