New Delhi: “CSIR scientists have developed Less Polluting Firecrackers which are not only environment friendly but 15-20 % cheaper than the conventional ones”, said Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forest & Climate Change at a press conference.
These crackers have been named as safe water releaser (SWAS), safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) and safe thermite cracker (STAR).
Highlighting that the Indian Fireworks industry is over 6000-crore worth of annual turnover and provides employment opportunities to over 5 lakh families directly or indirectly, the Minister said that this endeavour of CSIR aims at addressing the pollution concerns at the same time protecting the livelihoods of those involved in this trade.
The Minister mentioned that firecracker manufactures took keen interest with laboratories throughout the process and the new crackers would not require changes in their manufacturing facilities.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also listed a number of steps to make further improvements in the fire crackers. “First time in India, an Emission testing Facility has been established at CSIR-NEERI and extensive testing is in progress for conventional and green crackers for monitoring the emissions and sound”, he said.This facility uses all sophisticated instruments for measurement and sampling when firecrackers are used.
CSIR would be detailing further strengthening by installation of additional facilities for raw materials testing at Sivakasi. This activity is likely to be initiated for testing in next two months after completion of certain formalities. This facility can come up in collaboration and partnership with Manufacturers’ association Testing facilities.
Taking a comprehensive view of the firecracker sector, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that in tune with its Scientific Social Responsibility, CSIR has been working on long term and futuristic goals which would lead to clean and safe Diwali.The crackers have been namedas safe water releaser (SWAS), safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) and safe thermite cracker (STAR). It has unique property of releasing water vapour and /or air as dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions and matching performance in sound with conventional crackers. SWAS crackers eliminates usage of (KNO3) Potassium nitrate and Sulphurwith consequent reduction in particulate matter (30-35%) SO2 and NOx. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 dBA.SWAS has been tested for shelf life upto 3 weeks with consistent performance.
STAR eliminates usage of KNO3 and S with consequent reduction in particulate matter (35-40%), SO2 and NOx. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 dBA. SAFAL has minimal usage of aluminium (only in flash powder for initiation)with consequent significant reduction in particulate matter(35-40 %) compared to commercial crackers. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 110-115 dBA. PESO has been approached to analyse and test SWAS/STAR/SAFAL from point of view of safety, stability and other related issues.
These functional prototypes have been successfully demonstrated in Sivakasi to leading manufacturers.
