BANGALORE: Cracker manufacturers had made noiseless crackers for use during Diwali, marketing them as a cure for sound pollution. But the mute,vibrant bombs emitted a lot of smoke and led to a significant rise in Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM).
While the splendid display of colourful crackers added to the thrill of the festival, pollution-monitoring reports this year gave bad news.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) figures show air pollution has gone up by 100 to 120% than on normal days. Sound pollution levels have not come down but are almost similar as in the past few years.
“As far as noise is concerned, figures are almost the same as last year. A concern is RSPM level has gone up significantly. The national standard is 100 micrometers, but in some parts of the city, it has been as high as 159 micrometers. RSPM directly affects the lungs,’’ said KSPCB chairman H C Sharatchandra. “The time span of the pollution depends on weather pattern. If it is hot, pollutants get dispersed faster, but if it is cold and chilly, pollutants linger around at ground level.’’
Two monitoring stations show high pollution at Rajajinagar, a residential area, than the city railway station. Pollution control boards across the country have started measuring RSPM since last year. Before that, they used to measure Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), which are bigger particles that don’t interfere as much with the lungs as fine respirable matter. SPM detects all particulate matter from zero micrometer to big particles but RSPM measures particles only between the size of zero and 10 micrometers.
Crackers, typically, are made of highly toxic heavy metals like cadmium, lead, copper, manganese and zinc. A KSPCB official said colourful crackers lead to more toxicity. Chemicals like sodium are used to make yellow, potassium to display red and barium to make blue crackers. Noiseless crackers release a lot of smoke and metal particles.
This year, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) were also a lot higher than the national standard of 80 micrometers. NOx is less soluble and penetrates smaller airways and the lungs.
These cause respiratory allergies like asthma. While the increase in RSPM and SPM causes eye, nose and throat problems, chronic pulmonary diseases like bronchitis and asthma get aggravated.
The amount of solid waste generated this year has also been high. Metallic ends of crackers and sparklers are dropped in drains or just left on the roads, including paper waste strewn around the city.
