Firecrackers and Fireworks
Explosive firecrackers and brilliant fireworks are the hallmarks of the joyous Diwali festival.
Be it the sparkling phooljhari, spinning chakra, fountainlike anaar, flying rocket or the Laxmi bomb — the dazzling fireworks captivate one and all during the days of the festival of lights.
Bursting firecrackers is an ancient practice that has its origins in China. It is said that a Chinese monk named Li Tian stuffed a green bamboo with gunpowder and threw it into a fire. The bamboo exploded suddenly and thus was born the firecracker.
Firecrackers go off with a bang where as fireworks are a visual delight, setting the night skies ablaze with their splendour. Also called pyrotechnics, fireworks shows are not just about noise but also about light, smoke and colour.
The Recipe
A firecracker consists of gunpowder or flash powder wrapped very tightly in a paper tube, with a fuse. Gunpowder is a combustible mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulphur. These ingredients react with each other chemically to produce nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases when heat is applied by lighting the fuse. As the heated gases expand, the paper wrapping is ripped apart, producing the explosive sound. Flash powder burns quicker than gun powder and produces a loud bang with a flash of light.
Various types of fireworks produce different kinds of visual and sound effects depending on the chemicals stuffed in them. The most common component is aluminium, which emits silvery white sparks. Potassium imparts a violet shade while barium is used to create green colour. The pyrotechnic composition thus determines whether the firework emits a lot of smoke, glitters in a palm tree effect, whistles or crackles upon explosion.
Industrial Centre
Sivakasi is the fireworks capital of India with more than 600 manufacturers generating an annual turnover of Rs 7,000 crores. Dry climate and scanty rainfall as well as easy availability of raw materials make Sivakasi ideal for the fireworks industry. An impressed Jawaharlal Nehru nicknamed the industrial town ‘Kutty Japan’ (Mini Japan). However, Sivakasi was condemned for its use of child labour and today, steps have been taken to eradicate the practice.
The Darker Side
While fireworks continue to dazzle, they also create air, water and noise pollution apart from causing serious injuries. According to a 2016 study by the Pune-based Chest Research Foundation, burning a single cracker emits pollutants equal to the burning of 500 cigarettes at a time. The smoke contains traces of heavy metals and other toxic chemicals such as sulphur dioxide, magnesium and nitrates, which lead to health problems, especially respiratory ailments. Even the noise from the crackers— with decibel levels in excess of 90 — is harmful. Last year, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR. The smoke combined with the wintry mist leads to a spike in the levels of fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less (PM 2.5) in the air. These particles, which are 30 times finer than human hair, accumulate in the internal organs and bloodstream, causing sickness.
People, especially children, burst firecrackers from very close quarters, about a foot away. So they directly inhale the smoke pollutants in large quantities. Of all the firecrackers, the snake tablet burns for less than 10 seconds but produces the highest levels of PM 2.5, followed by the ladi, phooljhari, chakri and anar.
Fast Facts
◆ At the stroke of midnight on 1 January 2016, wide eyed spectators witnessed the world’s largest display of 8,10,904 fireworks in the Philippine Arena, an indoor stadium in the Philippines. The show lastedfor an hour — a Guinness World Record!
◆ In May 2010, as many as 1,25,801 rockets were launched in 30 seconds in a record-making event in Cebu, Philippines.
◆ China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world.
