Sivakasi has been gradually losing its ground owing to closure of the cracker manufacturing units. Supreme Court’s interim judgment, which stressed the need for producing ‘green crackers’ without the use of ‘barium nitrate’, last year led to the closure of these factories as the manufacturers had no alternative to proceed.

  

However, the arrival of a team of scientists from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur to Sivakasi was a god sent as additives aided by the institute in three different samples or forms were experimented in a factory for producing green cracker. 

A team of six scientists inspected cracker factories in Sivakasi in the last week of February. During the experimentation, the team checked performance, emission level and its durability. They tested the existing chemical characterisation and perfection in manufacturing method.

Ultimately, it suited the requirements of the legal body, which insisted on 25 to 30 percent of emission, but the outcome of this experiment resulted well with emission level of 35 to 40 percent.

 

It would be a new dawn for this industry if production resumes with the green cracker concept, Ganesan Panchurajan, Senior Advisory Committee Member, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA), told DT Next on Sunday.

Nearly 300 companies have entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the NEERI on Friday and signed in the first phase. Also, 200 companies were ready to enter into the agreement.

Apart from the NEERI, a Sivakasi-based doctor also came out with an additive and a team of young scientists from Salem with some bio material as an additive to suit green cracker production.

 

All tested product samples for making green crackers were submitted to the NEERI and the NDA signed companies were keeping their fingers crossed for certifying these samples in a week’s time.

 

It would certainly be a step towards innovation in the fireworks industry, which is not enterprising following closure of almost 1,070 licensed factories in Virudhunagar district for over 120 days now. Since the closure, the industry has suffered a production loss of about 33 percent this year, he said. 

Earlier, fire crackers were classified into 40 categories and 450 variants in total. During the NEERI scientists visit, the NDA-signed manufactures had also been apprised of steps being taken to enroll at its national level website, he said.