Mumbai: In a first for the city, all firecrackers tested on Tuesday cleared the noise level test. Last Diwali, four of the 25 firecrackers tested had breached the noise limit. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said this is the first time they have received 100 per cent positive results in firecracker testing.
Anti-noise activist Sumaira Abdulali, convenor, Awaaz Foundation which conducted the test along with MPCB, said, “Due to an increase in awareness activities, noise levels have come down significantly in the city. The highest decibel level this time is 116 decibels; there was a time when we saw crackers producing sounds as high as 140 decibels.”
The firecrackers will now undergo chemical analysis in the coming week to check for emission of harmful chemicals like nickel, lead, mercury and sulphur. “The only possible way to reduce all this pollution is to encourage more and more people to stay away from firecrackers. We are trying to increase awareness. These tests on crackers inform parents about the kind of products their children are using, and we have seen a drop in the number of firecracker users over years,” MPCB officials said.
Firecrackers tested this year were ones found to have been the loudest in previous years, including ‘Laxmi bombs’ and the ‘thunderbolt’.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
