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Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched eco-friendly crackers

By
AC Team 2
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On October 5, 2019 the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched eco-friendly green firecrackers, manufactured in India and are also made available in markets for sellers and consumers. These green crackers were developed by the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to combat air pollution. The CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) has developed new formulations for reduced emission of light and sound emitting in crackers with 30% reduction in particulate matter.Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched eco-friendly crackers

Key points

  • A green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed inorder to differentiate the green crackers from other conventional crackers.
  • 230 firework manufacturers had signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for using the formulations developed by CSIR scientists.
  • Testing facility: Emissions testing facilities for the new firecrackers have been set up at CSIR-NEERI. The Approved National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration (NABL) facilities for the firecrackers is also available at CSIR NEERI website. Raw Materials Compositional Analysis (RACE) is launched in Sivakasi (known as “Little Japan”), Tamilnadu, for testing raw materials and chemicals of the manufacturers.
  • Participants: Among 8 labs that participated to develop reduced emission/green fireworks, CSIR-NEERI developed improvements in the formulations based on Barium Nitrate chemical to meet the norms of green crackers. Following are the names of other participants:
    -Central Electrochemical Engineering Research Institute
    -Indian Institute of Toxicology Research
    -Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
    -National Chemical Laboratory
    -Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute
    -National Botanical Research Institute and Central
    -Mechanical Engineering Research Institute
  • Members present: The Director General(DG) of CSIR, DrShekhar C Mande; Director of NEERI, DrRakesh Kumar and other officials were amongst those present at the Press Conference.