Beware Deepawali Revelers: PCBA Survey On Impact of Firecrackers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Beware Deepawali revelers! The crackers you burst may lead to respiratory disorders like asthma and wheezing, and the toxic smoke may irritate your eyes, causing tears and redness. And your ears may go dumb at the deafening the sound which the crackers make.

Besides polluting the environment by causing noise and air pollution, firecrackers have great impacts on human health.

To assess the impacts on ambient air quality and noise level in Guwahati and a few other towns in the State before and after the Deepawali festival, the Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) conducts surveys. According to such surveys conducted in 2017 and 2018, there are some impacts of firecracker bursting during the Deepawali days on the ambient air and noise level in areas motored due to increase in concentration particulate matter – PM2.5 and PM 10 – and high decibel noise. However, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were found to be well within the prescribed national standard.

In case of ambient air quality, while SO2 and NO2 in the monitored towns are within the national standards with marginal increase during the Deepawali days clearly showing impacts, the particulate matters show many-fold increase in PM2.5 and in PM10.

In case of ambient noise level the impact was found less in 2018 than 2017, and it is attributed to the strong directive from the court in bursting of crackers as well as gradual rise in awareness among the masses regarding the negative impact of firecracker bursting.

The surveys were conducted at 22 places in 2017 and 19 places in 2018, including Guwahati.

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