The state pollution control board plans to measure the air pollution impacts of various firecrackers to make people aware of the “poison” they are exposed to.

“The environment protection act does not give us any power to confiscate highly-polluting crackers but we plan to study their impact on the air and bring it to public domain to spread awareness,” board chairman Kalyan Rudra said on Wednesday.

Air pollution had skyrocketed last year during Diwali, and Kali Puja and on immersion days, a board official said. Around midnight on Diwali, the levels of PM10 and PM2.5 — toxic particulates — was 17 and 18 times more than the national permissible limits, the official said.

Both PM10 and PM2.5 can enter the lungs and trigger a host of diseases but PM2.5 — ultra-fine particulates — is more penetrative and can reach the deep crevices of the lungs, even leading to cancer.

Last year, during Kali Puja, PM10 was about eight times more than the national permissible limit. On immersion day, it was at least 12 times more than the limit.

The national permissible limit for PM10 is 100 micrograms and for PM2.5, 60 micrograms in the air in 24 hours.

According to pollution control board records, PM2.5 occupies 65 to 85 per cent of the respirable air during Kali Puja and Diwali.

“Apart from the fine and ultra-fine particulates, the proportion of toxic metals such as strontium, aluminum and iron had increased eight to nine times more than the national permissible limit on Diwali,” a board official said.

“Often these pollutants ride on ultrafine particulates to enter our lungs.”

The respective proportion of PM2.5 pollutant during Diwali, Kali Puja and immersion days are tell-tale giveaways of the dynamics of bursting crackers these days, the official said. “The costly crackers that emanate plenty of light and blast multiple times are often China imports... they lead to finer particulate emission. Local crackers might contribute to higher PM10 levels on immersion days,” the official said.

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), along with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)and other scientific bodies, has prepared green fireworks with reduced noise and air pollution impacts, following an order of the National Green Tribunal. But they are still to reach the retail market in the state. “As per court directive we have prepared various kinds of improved and green fireworks, which are less polluting,” an NEERI official who has researched on green crackers said.

For example, the green flower pots do not have barium nitrate and polyvinyl chloride, but has dust suppressant, which reduces particulate matter pollution by 30 to 40 per cent apart from reduction of sulphur and nitrogen oxides, the official said.

“Similarly we have prepared green crackers and green sparklers, which will have significantly less particulate and other pollutant emission,” NEERI scientist Sadhana Rayalu who led the research on green fireworks said.