KOLKATA: On Diwali night, the PM2.5 concentration in city’s air, a West Bengal Pollution Control Board study in 2018 revealed, rises to 1,200µg/m³ on an average. This was equivalent to smoking 42 cigarettes in a short span of time. The thumb rule is: inhaling 29µg/m3 PM2.5 for a day is equivalent to smoking one cigarette. Particles of heavy metal in the air pushes up the pollution level by a few more notches during Kali Puja and Diwali.
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Experts warn that children who indulge in bursting fireworks get exposed to a much higher PM2.5 level. A benign — so it seems apparently — snake tablet emits 64,500µg/m³ PM2.5 particles. “It is no wonder why there is a sudden spike in asthma and COPD cases post-Diwali night,” said Sushmita Roy Chowdhury, consultant pulmonologist with Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.
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Implementing the Calcutta High Court’s order is in the interests of everyone, including the cracker industry. Trade, commerce and industry (which includes the cracker industry) cannot thrive if a large part of society is in poor health.
Roy Chowdhury is relieved to see fewer asthma patients after lockdown improved the air quality. But her relief was short-lived, with the queue of patients with breathing distress getting longer with air quality declining as the nation unlocked gradually. “The mixture of particulate matter, heavy metal particles and noxious fumes is a deadly combination. It is a far more serious issue than controlling pandal-hopping to restrict the infection,” said Arup Haldar, consultant pulmonologist, Columbia Asia and Woodlands Hospitals.
Particulate matter of PM2.5 size, which is 30 times finer than a human hair, is considered dangerous to humans since it can reach the deepest portions of lungs. It is declared as Class I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and is also linked to heart disease and respiratory ailments. Due to its tiny size and ability to accumulate in human organs and blood, it plays havoc with vital organs like heart, lungs and stomach.
“In the background of an ongoing pandemic, it is of utmost importance for us to realize the need to limit air pollution this Kali Puja-Diwali as it would only aggravate the suffering all around and increase the death toll,” said Soirindhri Banerjee of radiation oncology, IPGMER & SSKM Hospital.
“Crackers contain chemicals such as salts of potassium, sulphur, manganese, sodium, aluminium, iron, strontium, barium and charcoal. When crackers are fired, there is an instant increase in levels of ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, black carbon and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. All these are very dangerous for human health and can trigger a chain reaction of ailments,” said a senior scientist.
“The debate over allowing green-crackers is absolutely misplaced. There is no infrastructure or methodology to determine between green and non-green fireworks. Moreover, green fireworks only reduces pollution by 30%. Can we afford to pollute our ambient air by 70%?” questioned environment activist Subhas Datta.