Extremely toxic heavy metals found in firecrackers, claims Mumbai-based NGO

Bursting of firecrackers during the ongoing Diwali festival released extremely toxic heavy metals into the air, according to a green NGO.

This year’s prolonged monsoon, which continued until just before Diwali, has made the effects of firecrackers immediately visible through a sharp deterioration in air quality levels.

The Mumbai-based NGO blamed the state government for its failure to control the use of toxic firecrackers and protect citizens from their adverse health effects.

“Despite years of testing and campaigning, the state government has failed to control the adverse health effects of people from bursting of toxic firecrackers," according to a statement issued by the Awaaz Foundation on Tuesday.

The Foundation shared a list of 25 types of firecrackers produced by various companies that were used for chemical content testing this year, and claimed noise levels were not mentioned on most firecrackers while a few did not carry QR codes as required.

It claimed that the chemical composition printed on many firecrackers differed significantly from the actual contents found during testing.

For instance, the label on Blueberry firecrackers stated the composition as potassium nitrate (55%), aluminium (20%), sulphur (15%), and zeolite (10%). However, laboratory analysis detected aluminium (36.571%), potassium (16.851%), sulfur (4.045%), silicon (0.148%), and oxygen (42.249%).

Health