Environmentalists are rightly concerned about the pollution caused by huge amounts of crackers burst during Diwali. It becomes difficult to breathe. Elders suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases find it especially difficult to live through these few days. However, it would be wise to take a step back and ponder upon the possible benefits of this once-a-year pollution event before we wholly jettison the tradition.
Diwali is celebrated after the rains. Large numbers of insects breed during the monsoon season. The poison let out in the air due to bursting of crackers spells death for them. We often spray poisonous insecticides in the bedroom before going to sleep. Similarly, the single bout of pollution clears up the environment for the upcoming winter season. My grandmother used to say that insects would go away after seeing the festival of Diwali!
Dr Narendra Mehrotra, former scientist at the Central Drug Research Institute, says that it is necessary to use mixed fireworks to enhance this beneficial effect. Fireworks designed to make noise use more of sulfur while those designed to create light use more of phosphorus. Other fireworks use strontium and potassium. The lighting of a mixture of these fireworks leads to emissions of gases containing these various elements. These, together, work like a potent cocktail of antibiotics that is used to kill the most resistant bacteria. Therefore, we need to use a mixture of fireworks rather than one single variety. Emission of one single gas in a large quantity will not have as much beneficial effect of killing insects but will have negative impact on human health.
The quantity of fireworks that are lighted also matters. A huge display of fireworks high above thousands sitting in an open stadium does not have a negative impact on human health because the emissions get dissipated and spread into a large area. These emissions do not do harm just as a few ants running on the street are benign. On the other hand, large amount of crackers lighted in the middle of high rise buildings expose the residents to large concentration of emissions and are harmful. Therefore, there is a need to determine the optimum level of fireworks that may be lighted in different areas such as slums, residential colonies, high rise buildings and villages.
We need to devise some system so that the use of fireworks in these areas is limited to an optimum level. We must consider earmarking specific open areas where individuals may light large amount of fireworks.
We must not ignore the psychological benefits of happiness that we derive from lighting crackers. The task before us is to establish a system whereby we continue to obtain the psychological and bactericidal benefits from lighting crackers but we limit the negative impacts of pollution.
Sulfur, a major ingredient in crackers, is spewed into the air in large amounts when they are burst which may have a beneficial impact on crops. Sulfur’s content in the air in Europe has been declining for the last two decades. A study by the scientists of University catholique de Louvain and Soil Service of Belgium gave sulfur supplements to grass crops and found that the yields increased in many cases. This seems to suggest that adding large amounts of sulfur to the atmosphere may enable plants to absorb this element. Therefore, bursting sulfur-spewing crackers would be especially beneficial in rural areas. Elders of my village in Rajasthan say that bursting crackers brings forth more frost in the coming winters, considered beneficial for the crops.
Then there are psychological impacts. Doctors routinely tell that the response of a patient to medicines depends much on the mental predisposition. A patient with a positive outlook is cured soon; while one with a fault-finding predisposition takes much time. The mind governs the body in large measure. For this reason, almost all sports events have firework displays during the ceremonies—even though pollution undeniably takes place. People in the United States start bursting crackers a week before the Independence Day that falls on July 4th. We bear this pollution because the gain in mental energy is more than the loss due to pollution. The same principle applies to Diwali crackers. The invigoration of the mind provides more benefits than the loss from pollution.
We have a tradition of lighting lamps of mustard oil during Diwali. Mustard oil has bactericidal qualities. Yogis say it also has psychic qualities. It cleans up the psychic centers in the lower part of our spinal chord. This tradition has today been largely replaced with the plugging-in of Made in China strings of electric bulbs. These lights do lighten and invigorate the heart but they do not provide the bactericidal and psychic benefits. It is necessary to run a campaign to reinstitute the tradition of lighting lamps with mustard oil so that we also get these benefits.
There is a possibility of making Green Crackers. Pollution from crackers is not only from the carbon emitted but also from the metals used to bring out different colours. A web post on Treehugger, tells us that, antimony, used to produce white colour, can harm the lungs, heart, stomach and other organs. Barium, which provides a green hue, harms the gastrointestinal tract and the heart. Crackers use perchlorate, oxygen-rich molecules that allow the fuel in fireworks to burn. The main step taken towards green fireworks is to replace carbon-based fuels with nitrogen-based fuels, so that perchlorates become unnecessary. This has the welcome side-effect of reducing the amount of smoke produced, which means that much less amounts of antimony and barium needs to be used. There are also the air-launch fireworks which don’t use gunpowder to get the explosive charge into the air. But the problem is the price. Eco-friendly fireworks are more expensive. The government should commission a study to use harmless materials for the production of crackers.
The concern over increasing levels of pollution due to lighting crackers on a large scale during Diwali is well placed. But we must not ignore the psychological benefits of happiness that we derive from lighting crackers. The task before us is to establish a system whereby we continue to obtain the psychological and bactericidal benefits from lighting crackers but we limit the negative impacts of pollution. Steps that may be taken in this direction are as follows. One, all manufacturers should be required to print the contents of the fireworks, and the nature and quantity of emissions. Two, a campaign must be launched to educate people on the desirability of lighting mixed crackers in optimum quantities. Three, we must reinstitute the tradition of lighting mustard lamps. Four, we need to undertake research on making green crackers. I like good crackers. It invigorates my mind. We need to take a more nuanced approach so that our culture is protected and the environment is also conserved.
Author was formerly Professor of Economics at IIM Bengaluru
