Supreme Court Bans Four Toxic Chemicals from Crackers

Ahead of the festive seasons of Dussehra and Deepavali, the Supreme Court on Monday prohibited the use of five chemicals, labelled as toxic by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in the manufacture of firecrackers.

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta recorded in its short order that, “that no firecrackers manufactured by the respondents shall contain antimony, lithium, mercury, Arsenic and lead in any form whatsoever. It is the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure compliance particularly in Sivakasi.”

The order came after the court heard the submissions from officials of the CPCB and Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation’s (PESO) Firework Research and Development Centre at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu.

The court asked the CPCB to clarify on the use of strontium, another chemical branded toxic by the pollution body, in firecrackers. Manufacturers however denied using these chemicals.

Even as the court gave the CPCB time till September 15 to provide detailed information on the environmental impact, especially AIR pollution, caused by firecrackers, private manufacturers, who are suffering a court ban on sale of firecrackers in the Delhi and NCR regions, tried to reason that firecrackers is not the only source of pollution.

Justice Lokur said the CPCB study is meant to ultimately fix some kind of standards and regulations in the use of chemicals in firecrackers. The manufacturers said CPCB should clearly state the specifications the percentage of chemicals to be used rather than conduct the exercise of randomly picking up samples with the purpose of clamping down on manufacturers.

A PESO official pointed out that there are 800 factories manufacturing firecrackers in Sivakasi, and any adverse action on these establishments, would put over 1.6 lakh workers' families in dire straits.

The PESO official said the law does not mandate a ban on firecrackers but only regulates it by prescribing permissible limits, even for hazardous chemicals.

The court had earlier pointed out a lack of clarity on the pollutive impact of explosive substances used in firecrackers.

The government had submitted that there was continuous monitoring and random checks of firecrackers by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Controller of Explosives. The CPCB had earlier filed a report indicating that most firecrackers contain a large amount of sulphur, a major cause of air pollution.

The apex court on November 11, 2016, directed the Centre to suspend licences and permits for wholesale and retail sale of firecrackers and their renewals within the territory of NCR.

The litigation is part of a writ petition filed by advocate M.c. Mehta in 1985 for the court's intervention to curb air pollution. The court has been hearing and monitoring a bouquet of issues connected to this petition since then.