Supreme Court no to use of heavy metals in firecrackers

Source – indianexpress.com

Citing health hazards, the Supreme Court on Monday asked firecracker manufacturers not to use heavy metals like lithium, antimony, mercury, arsenic and lead and chemical elements like antimony “in any form whatsoever” in their products. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Mehta said it was the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure that the order was complied with, including in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu where there were a large number of cracker manufacturers.

Though the compounds of strontium too were cited as hazardous for health, the court sought more clarity on the matter and fixed August 23 for the next hearing. The order came on a 2015 petition by three Delhi children — Aarav Bhandari, Arjun Gopal and Zoya Rao Bhasin — who requested the court to intervene to regulate the use of crackers and fireworks during festivals like Diwali.

The apex court noted that “no standards have been laid down by the CPCB with regard to air pollution caused by the bursting of fire-crackers”. Member Secretary of the Pollution Control Board K B Akolkar told the bench that the “standards” will be laid down by “September 15, 2017 at the latest”. K Sundaresan, Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives, Sivakasi, said that any adverse order would affect 1,60,000 people associated with the sector.

The court also asked CPCB and PESO to “make collaborative efforts for setting up of standards”. Acting on the plea of the petitioners, the court also impleaded the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.