On Wednesday, MPCB along with NGO Awaaz Foundationtested 23 firecrackers for noise levels at an open ground in Royal Chemical Fertiliser (RCF) Colony, Chembur. A total of 25 crackers will also be tested for chemical analysis.

Tests showed that noise levels produced by crackers were higher than in the previous year when MPCB hadn't found the need to recommend any ban. Officials said they had also seen a rise in air pollution among noiseless crackers.

Among series crackers, the loudest was 119dB while that in single bomb created 119.6dB against the 125dB limit. A series of 10,000 crackers recorded a maximum noise of 112.6dB— much higher than the 105dB limit. Last year's noisiest were 99.9 dB and 116.2dB, respectively.

V M Motghare, joint director, MPCB, said the items are single Dyno Bomb and a 10,000 series cracker. "Most single bombs recorded levels very close to permissible levels and were much louder than last year. The final report, including chemical analysis, will be ready by October 12." Similar tests are being conducted in the state.

MPCB will deploy squads in 27 municipal corporations to check sale of banned crackers. S C Kollur, chief scientist, MPCB, said, "Citizens must avoid buying less noisy but smoke crackers as well." Awaaz Foundation's Suraiya Artes said, "These tests are done on an open ground but the effects get amplified in the city's environment. While there has been a decline in the use of crackers in the past few years, a lot still needs to be done."