Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Supreme Court Decision
- The Supreme Court legalised the sale of green crackers, balancing festive sentiments, pollution, and livelihood concerns.
- Firecracker ban in the National Capital Region since 2018 has impacted the small-scale informal sector significantly.
Development and Composition
- CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, initiated green cracker development in 2018 with reduced emissions technology.
- Claims 30% minimum reduction in particulate emissions, sometimes up to 80% reduction.
- Three major chemical changes: zeolite additives, boron-based dust suppressants, and metallic composites for efficiency.
- Traditional crackers contain barium nitrate, antimony, and metals linked to respiratory diseases and cancer.
- Green flower pots use a water-lime mixture to settle dust-smoke particles instead of airborne dispersion.
- Green sparklers: 32% potassium nitrate, 40% aluminium powder, 17% proprietary additives reducing PM emissions.
- SWAS bomb formulation: 72% proprietary additive, 16% potassium nitrate, 9% aluminium powder.
Pollution Impact Assessment
- 30% particulate matter reduction claimed but computed in labs, not verified in real-world conditions.
- Supreme Court noted “not much improvement” in overall air quality between the 2018-2024 period.
- Air quality deteriorated to ‘very poor’ on October 20-21 in the NCR region.
- Several sensors recorded particulate matter over 1,000 microgram/cubic metre during the Deepavali period.
- Stubble burning in Punjab contributed, but the relative contribution measurement is unavailable officially.