The Supreme Court ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR during Deepavali seems to have not brought any palpable relief to the respiratory systems of the city’s denizens in 2017.
A report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board in the Supreme Court on Friday failed to spot any unusual variations in respiratory illnesses or a significant dip in public health before and after Deepavali.
The Board, however, said the air quality worsened post Deepavali.
Short-term study
“The respiratory system-related symptoms and signs were not much different pre and post Dussehra and Diwali. Although there was some increase in cough and breathlessness, but this did not translate into any significant illness requiring immediate medical attention. Other system related complaints were also not much different during pre and post Dussehra and Diwali,” the eight-page report said.
The report was the result of a short-term health impact assessment of bursting firecrackers during Dussehra and Deepavali in 2017.
The scope of the study included respiratory, skin, ear, eye ailments and relevant symptoms pre and post festive season, a clinical study of lung function and urine samples on randomly selected subjects and data analysis.
Metals in urine
The report said increased values of barium and strontium were found in the urine samples of many subjects. These are metals used in firecracker manufacturing. However, the study suggests that the increased levels in urine may also reflect a probability of exposure while bursting firecrackers.
The court had not banned the bursting of firecrackers, only their sale.
“Air quality did worsen during Diwali and symptoms of eye, increased coughing, relatively more hospital visits, increased noise levels and high metal level in urine do reflect adverse impact of firecracker bursting. However, it was not significant statistically,” the report said.
Pollutants down
However, the Board found that presence of pollutants in the air were considerably lower in 2017 than during Diwali 2016. This may be due to fewer instances of bursting firecrackers this season.
The report hinted that a long-term study would be required to understand the impact of firecrackers on the human system.
The Supreme Court had in October 2017 suspended the sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR till November 1, 2017 in a bid to test whether a Deepavali without firecrackers this year would have a “positive effect” on the health of citizens and a steadily deteriorating air quality.
A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri, A.M. Sapre and Ashok Bhushan had reverted to the apex court's November 2016 decision to suspend sales of firecrackers “to test itself in order to find out whether there would be positive effect of this suspension, particularly during Diwali period”.
