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Eco-friendly Diwali damned as pollution levels shoot up
Despite the massive awareness campaigns for celebrating an eco-friendly Diwali, there was less impact on the revellers who wished to celebrate the festival of lights in a more conventional way by bursting crackers and fireworks in the city on Thursday. Â
Visakhapatnam: Despite the massive awareness campaigns for celebrating an eco-friendly Diwali, there was less impact on the revellers who wished to celebrate the festival of lights in a more conventional way by bursting crackers and fireworks in the city on Thursday.
When compared to last year’s Diwali in 2017, Visakhapatnam recorded a hike in the values of Particulate Matter (PM) 10 and PM 2.5 - the two hazardous components of air pollution by over 20 per cent, according to AP Pollution Control Board’s (APPCB) Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station Pollutants Data Report.
In 2017, the levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in Visakhapatnam on Thursday evening to late night were at a ‘hazardous’ level, which means entire population is more likely to be affected. According to the report, in 2016, on the day of Diwali, an average recorded value of PM 10 value was 141ug/m³ and PM 2.5 was 106ug/m³.
Whereas this year the average values of PM 10 and PM 2.5 for the day were at 264ug/m³ and 183ug/m³. However, on Thursday from evening to midnight, both PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels touched extremely high making the quality of air ‘poor’, ‘very poor’ and ‘hazardous’ to breathe in.
Speaking to The Hans India here on Friday, APPCB Environmental Engineer R Lakshmi Narayana said: “This year, the quantity of crackers sold was less when compared with that of last year.
However, the values are showing more due to the use of heavy metals composition like Copper, Barium, Aluminium, Sodium , Strontium, Dextrin. Display of different colours when the crackers were lit was due to use of above mentioned heavy metals.”
According to doctors, the heavy metals components will directly affect the health, causing cancer and other severe health problems if the people are exposed to this polluted air for long time.
“Earlier days, the crackers had been made by using light chemicals like sulphur and other materials. To attract the public, nowadays, the heave metals are being used in fireworks to illuminate with different hues,” Narayana said In an attempt to attract customers by using popular names for products this Diwali, all the crackers outlets sold several fireworks named after edible products, online games and Internet search engines. Some of the catchy titles include World War –II, Candy Crush, Pink Panther, Pista, Boomer, Angry Bird, Google, Green Munch and Kurkure.
Last year, the PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels have come down by 11 PM on the day of festival, but this year, it was not the case. Even at 11 pm on Thursday in 2017, the readings of PM 2.5 and PM 10 are 308 µg/m³ and 411µg/m³, making it ‘very unhealthy’ to inhale the pollutants.
By Y Abhishek Paul
