A study on the impact of fire crackers on airborne microflora during diwali

Abstract

Diwali is celebrated widely in Asian countries, with a custom of firing crackers. Crackers pollute the environment with noise, particulate matter and chemicals. There are reports on the variation of particulates during firing crackers but none on airborne microbes. The present study was conducted to know the impact of fire crackers on airborne microflora. The air samples were collected 3 days prior to Diwali, on Diwali and 3 days after Diwali during the year 2017 at 15 different areas in Chennai, India. Andersen N-6 viable particle air sampler was exposed with petridishes containing nutrient agar and potato dextrose agar for the isolation of bacteria and fungi respectively. An average of 1,904 ± 2.5 CFU/m 3 of bacteria recorded prior Diwali was reduced by 53.23% on Diwali and increased by 27.37% after Diwali. This reduction on Diwali is attributed to the exposure of bacteria to chemicals emitted by the crackers. For fungi, an average of 235.57 ± 1.67 CFU/m 3 was recorded prior Diwali, with an increase of 78.5% on Diwali. The increase in fungal count might be due to the release of spores by ground crackers. The study shows that bacteria are susceptible to the chemicals emitted by fire crackers when compared with fungi.

Chemical characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 combusted firecracker particles during Diwali of Lucknow City, India: air-quality deterioration and health implications

“…Besides, the 24-h mean particle concentration at all locations during the pre-Diwali, Diwali, and post-Diwali days were significantly higher than NAAQS. Health impacts to the exposed population during the festival days have extensively been studied by several researchers (Prakash et al 2019 ; Beig et al 2013 ; Sarkar et al 2010 ; Ravindra et al 2003 ). Studies conducted in India on Diwali festival estimated an increase in ratios of cardiovascular and respiratory mortalities to those of normal days by up to ~ 3.5 (Beig et al 2013 ).…”

“…Many epidemiological studies have established the fact that increased particulate concentration is directly associated with hospitalization and mortality for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and a decrease in lung function (Prakash et al 2019 ; Beig et al 2013 ; Perrino et al 2011 ). Also, the fine particulate pollution typically acts as a medium to disseminate the viruses and keep them in the atmosphere for a certain period and is also a cause for the pandemic (Comunian et al 2020 ; Zhou et al 2020 ).…”

“…SO 2 in ambient air in such high concentrations with high humidity conditions might lead to the formation of sulfate ions (particulate form) by the process of photochemical oxidation (Pervez et al 2016 ). Meanwhile, the concentrations of NO 2 showed a relatively lower spike compared to SO 2 which might be attributed to the fact that firecrackers primarily contain sulfur-bearing compounds (Prakash et al 2019 ; Wang et al 2007 ) as compared to nitrogen-bearing compounds.…”

Real-Time Monitoring of Particulate Matter During Diwali Festival in Chennai, India

“…A study demonstrated that the firework emission can produce serious health effects in mammalian cell and lungs irrespective of the particle size [30]. A study revealed that there is a decrease in air borne bacteria due to exposure of toxic chemicals on Diwali day [31]. Mariselvam et al conducted a health survey in the year 2017 and stated that about 45% of urban people were facing problem with eye irritation during the Diwali festivals [32].…”

Insight into festival ushered pollutants in Indian metro cities: concerns, differences and similarities

“…Beig et al, (2013) evaluated Diwali related health effects using AP method to nd that 'relative risk (RR)' is more associated with the smaller, PM2.5 range particulates. There are many studies (Ghei and Sane 2018; Mukherjee et al 2018) that dealt with quanti cation of pollution enhancement due to re crackers on Diwali day and their health impacts due to increase in airborne micro ora (Udaya Prakash et al 2019).…”