PROJECT REPORT

ON
INCREASE IN PARTICULATE MATTER IN
ATMOSPHERE DUE TO FIREWORKS
AND CONSEQUENT EFFECT ON
HUMAN HEALTH:
LITERATURE REVIEW



SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
DR. SIBY JOHN ABHISHEK KOUL
PROFESSOR 13201001
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGG M.E ENVIRONMENTAL ENGG
List of Contents

Topic Page No.

1. Introduction .........................................................................1

2. Particulate Matter.................................................................2

3. Monitoring Particulate Concentration...................................3
3.1 Filter based Gravimetric Samplers...................................3
3.2 TEQM Analysers...............................................................3
3.3 Optical Analysers..............................................................4
3.4 Persnal Samplers............................................................4
3.! Meas"rement # PM
2.!
cncentratins............................4

4. Case Studies...........................................................................5

!. Healt !ffects........................................................................."

#eferences............................................................................1$

1

1. Introduction
Fireworks have emerged as one of the ways devised by the people of different
countries to express their feelings. People burn crackers on different occasions to
express their happiness. Deepawali, the festival of lights, is celebrated with
enthusiasm all over India, every year. ursting of !rackers is one of the prominent
activities of Deepawali. "lso, In India, it has become a practice of celebrating various
functions#occasions $marriage ceremony, birthday parties, %ew &ear celebration' by
burning fireworks. (nlike western countries $"ustria, Italy, )ermany, and (nited
*tates etc.' where large fireworks displays are arranged at one place, home fireworks
displays are allowed in India, without any prior permission.
+hese fireworks emit trace gases and particulate matters $P,' including metals into
the atmosphere, which causes generation of dense clouds of smoke, concentration
of which depends on the composition of sparklers and crackers. )enerally crackers
contains potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur, potassium and trace elements, which
severely affects environment as well as human health. -evels of P,
1.
and P,
/.0

$particulates with diameters less than 1. 1m and /.0 1m respectively' are found to
increase to large extent during these occasions.
2arious studies have been conducted in different parts of our country about air
3uality during such fireworks display, especially in the months of 4ctober and
%ovember, when Deepawali festival is being celebrated. +hese studies usually
determine the concentration of P,, *4
x
, %4
x
and trace metals before and after the
festival. It has been that reported that their concentration is usually increased by 5 to
6 times than any normal day concentration.
2arious studies on air pollution effects on health have indicated a strong relationship
between air pollutant concentrations and observed health effects. +here is also
strong evidence that fine particles $P, 7 /.0 1m' play an important role in the
observed health effects. !oarse particles $/.0 1m 7 P, 7 1. 1m' are effectively
removed in the upper part of respiratory track while fine particles $P, 7 /.01m' are
deposited on the bronchi walls in the bronchi tree. Particles smaller than ..11m
experiences rownian ,otion as a result of which they get collected in the bronchi.
8owever, particles lying between ..1 91 1m are too large for rownian ,otion and
too small to be trapped in the upper part of the trachea. 8ence, they get deposited
in the lungs, thus increasing airway resistance.


/

2. Particulate Matter
Particulate ,atter is a widespread air pollutant, consisting of a mixture of solid and
li3uid particles suspended in the air. !ommonly used indicators describing P, that
are relevant to health refer to the mass concentration of particles with a diameter of
less than 1. 1m $P,
1.
' and of particles with a diameter of less than /.0 1m $P,
/.0
'.
P,
/.0
, often called fine P,, also comprises ultrafine particles having a diameter of
less than ..1 1m. In most locations in :urope, P,
/.0
constitutes 0.;<.= of P,
1.
.
P, between ..1 1m and 1 1m in diameter can remain in the atmosphere for days or
weeks and thus be sub>ect to long9range transboundary transport in the air.
P, is a mixture with physical and chemical characteristics varying by location.
!ommon chemical constituents of P, include sulphates, nitrates, ammonium, other
inorganic ions such as ions of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride,
organic and elemental carbon, crustal material, particle9bound water, metals
$including cadmium, copper, nickel, vanadium and ?inc' and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons $P"8'. In addition, biological components such as allergens and
microbial compounds are found in P,.
Particles can either be directly emitted into the air $primary P,' or be formed in the
atmosphere from gaseous precursors such as sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen,
ammonia and non9methane volatile organic compounds $secondary particles'.
Primary P, and the precursor gases can have both man9made $anthropogenic' and
natural $non9anthropogenic' sources.
"nthropogenic sources include combustion engines $both diesel and petrol', solid9
fuel $coal, lignite, heavy oil and biomass' combustion for energy production in
households and industry, other industrial activities $building, mining, manufacture of
cement, ceramic and bricks, and smelting', and erosion of the pavement by road
traffic and abrasion of brakes and tyres. "griculture is the main source of
ammonium.
*econdary particles are formed in the air through chemical reactions of gaseous
pollutants. +hey are products of atmospheric transformation of nitrogen oxides
$mainly emitted by traffic and some industrial processes' and sulphur dioxide
resulting from the combustion of sulphur9containing fuels. *econdary particles are
mostly found in fine P,.



@

3. Monitoring Particulate Concentration
+here is a variety of monitoring methods available for the measurement of mass
concentrations of P, in ambient air. +hese include both direct reading instruments,
which provide continuous measurements of particle concentrations, and filter9based
gravimetric samplers that collect the particulate material onto a filter, which must
then be weighed subse3uently in a laboratory.
!ommonly used methods for the mass measurement of P, in ambient air includeA
Filter9based gravimetric samplers
+apered :lement 4scillating ,icrobalance $+:4,'
4ptical analysersB
Personal samplers.


Filter9based gravimetric samplers
+hree sampling devices that may be usedA
*uper high volume sampler
8igh9volume sampler
-ow9volume sampler

:ach of these samplers consists of a P,1. sampling inlet that is directly connected
to a filter substrate and a regulated flow controller. Following completion of the
sampling period, the P,1. mass collected on the filter is determined gravimetrically.
+he filter is conditioned at /.C! and 0.= relative humidity prior to weighing.
It is important to emphasise that the P,
1.
concentration measured by the
reference method is simply that ; it is not an absolute measure of P,
1.
mass
in the atmosphere. +he reference method will be sub>ect to both positive
$for example, due to an increase in particle9bound water' and negative artefacts
$for example, due to loss of semi9volatile compounds' during sampling.

+:4, "nalysers
+he +:4, analyser is used for measuring continuous concentrations of P,. +he
instrument is based on the principle that the fre3uency of oscillation of a glass,
tapered tube $element' changes by an amount that is directly proportional to the
mass of the tube. +herefore, any change in mass of the tube, due to the deposition
of particles onto a small filter affixed to one end, will result in a change in the
resonant fre3uency9 this change is proportional to the additional mass. Due to the
5

need to eliminate the effect of changing humidity on the mass measurement, the
+:4, is re3uired to maintain the sample filter at an elevated temperature.

4ptical "nalysers
4ptical particle monitors utilise the interaction between airborne particles and
visible, infrared or laser light.
%ephalometer and#or transmissometers are used to determine visibility loss due to
airborne particulate material. +ransmissometers operate over a long open path of 1;
1. km and measure total light extinction by determining the loss of light $due to
scattering and absorption of the intervening atmosphere' from an artificial light
source of known luminescence. %ephalometers, which operate over a short closed
path, measure light scattering, which is responsible for the ma>ority but not all of the
total light extinction.

Personal *amplers
"n increasingly wide range of measurement techni3ues for various metrics of P, are
being applied to personal exposure analysis. +he re3uirement of exposure analysis is
that sampling should be from the breathing ?one of an individual, which extends
approximately @. cm from their nose and mouth, and moves with them from one
microenvironment to the next.
Particle si?e selection for these filter sampling techni3ues is achieved by conventional
impactor or cyclone techni3ues or specially designed more lightweight methods such
as the conical inhalable sampler using treated foam to remove particles larger than
1. or /.0 1m at a given low or high flow rate.

Measurement of PM
2.5
concentrations
+he P,
/.0
fraction of P, differs from the P,
1.
fraction solely in the si?e of the
particles included. +he fundamental difference in methods for P,
/.0
compared
to P,
1.
measurement in most cases is, therefore, >ust the design of the si?e selective
inlet. +he methods used for P,
1.
, therefore, can be adapted for use with P,
/.0
with
no other changes. +he exceptions to this are instruments that use optical methods,
which determine the si?e fraction by means other than a si?e9selective inlet.
8owever, optical instruments for P,
/.0
are essentially similar to those for P,
1.
, with
commercial instruments capable of monitoring the different si?e fractions in a rapid
cycle.
0

+he si?e9selective inlets for P,
/.0
measurements are generally designed to operate at
the same sampling flow rate as those for P,
1.
, so that the instruments can be
converted for the different si?e fractions with minimal effort.
In practice, the measurement of P,
/.0
differs from P,
1.
because there will be a
smaller 3uantity of P, to measure, and the coarse fraction, which tends to consist of
windblown dust and other non9volatile material, is excluded. oth these factors
make accurate P,
/.0
measurement more difficult than P,
1.
measurement.


4. Case Studies showing PM increase due to fireworks
Following are the various studies conducted in different parts of our country,
showing the increase in the P, concentration in atmosphere during the Deepawali
Festival.

1. Air Pollution from fireworks during festival of lights (deepawali) in Howrah, India
+he ob>ective of the this study was set to monitor air 3uality parameters such as
*P,, %DP, $non respirable particulate matter', P,
1.
or DP, $respirable particulate
matter', P,
/.0
or FP, $Fine Particulate ,atter', *ulfur Dioxide $*4
/
' and %itrogen
Dioxide $%4
/
' on and around the day of Deepawali in the year /..<. +he results are
compared with typical winter day concentration levels for the chosen parameters
and with the ambient air 3uality standards.
*alkia, a densely populated residential area located at 8owrah within the limits of
)reater !alcutta $Eolkata' ,etropolitan "rea, was chosen as the monitoring site for
the present study.
+he monitoring station was chosen on the terrace of a two;storied private building
in a densely populated residential area. +he terrace was chosen for sampling because
the nearby houses have roof spaces which are generally used by the residents for
firework display. In addition, this height can be considered as the respirable ?one for
people in /;@ storey buildings.
+he monitoring work was done for a total number of eight days spanned between
%ovember < to /0, /..< and divided into two segments. +he pollutant parameters
measured during the study include different particulate species vi?. *P,, %DP,,
P,
1.
, and P,
/.0
, and gaseous pollutants such as *4
/
and %4
/
.

6

*tandard gravimetric method of high;volume sampling was used to measure the
mass concentrations of *P,, %DP,, and P,
1.
. +he instrument employed was
respirable dust sampler $DD*' with provision for gaseous sampling. )ravimetric
method was also used for measuring the mass concentration of P,
/.0
. +he
instrument employed was fine particulate sampler $FP*'.





2. Ambient Air Pollution Levels !eepawali, 2"#$% b& 'entral Pollution 'ontrol (oard
+he !entral Pollution !ontrol oard, Delhi conducted an in9depth "mbient air 3uality
monitoring for the city of Delhi during celebration of Deepawali festival for the year
/.1@ $%ovember @, /.1@' to see the overall impact of bursting of crackers.
+he intensive ambient air monitoring was carried out a selected seven locations. "ir
pollution levels during /.1@ Deepawali day with respect to *4
/
and %4
/
showed a
decreasing trend except at one location and increasing trend was observed for P,
1.

as compared to Deepawali, /.1/.






<



$. )ine parti*les (P+2.,) in ambient air of Lu*know *it& due to fireworks on !iwali
festival
+he monitoring of fine particles was carried out by the 8a?9Dust, :nvironment
Particulate "ir ,onitor $:P",90...', which is a high sensitivity $1 to /... 1g m9@'
instrument. +he real time particulate monitor designed for ambient environment and
indoor air 3uality applications is based on the principle of forwarding the scattering
of an infrared light source position at F.9 degree angle from a photo detector. +he
airborne particles enter the infrared beam, scatter the light and the amount of light
received by the photo detector is directly proportional to the aerosol concentration.
+o know the effect of GDiwali episodeH, /5 hr continuous monitoring of P,
/.0
was
done in 2ikas %agar in /..0 on @.
th
4ctober $two days before Diwali', @1st 4ctober
$day before Diwali', 1st %ovember $Diwali day' and /nd %ovember $day after Diwali'.
For simplification, these days are named respectively as Inormal dayJ, Ipre Diwali
dayJ, IDiwali dayJ and Ipost Diwali dayJ.

K










/5 hr $6 9 6 ",' mean P,/.0 $1g m9@' of normal day, pre Diwali day,Diwali day and post
Diwali day





F

5. ealth !ffects
Particulate matter has recently become an issue of increasing importance in
pollution studies due to its noticeable effects on human health. 2arious studies on air
pollution effects on health have indicated a strong relationship between air pollutant
concentrations and observed health effects.
Particle behaviour in the lung is dependent upon the aerodynamic characteristics of
particles in flow streams. +he aerodynamic properties of particles are related to their
si?e, shape and density. +he deposition of particles in different regimes of the
respiratory system depends on their si?es. +he nasal openings permit very large dust
particles to enter the nasal region, along with much finer airborne particulates.
P,
1.
and P,
/.0
include inhalable particles that are small enough to penetrate the
thoracic region of the respiratory system. +he health effects of inhalable P, are well
documented. +hey are due to exposure over both the short term $hours, days' and
long term $months, years' and includeA
L respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity, such as aggravation of asthma,
respiratory symptoms and an increase in hospital admissions.
L mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and from lung cancer.

+here is good evidence of the effects of short9term exposure to P,
1.
on respiratory
health, but for mortality, and especially as a conse3uence of long9term exposure,
P,
/.0
is a stronger risk factor than the coarse part of P,
1.
.
*usceptible groups with pre9existing lung or heart disease, as well as elderly people
and children, are particularly vulnerable. For example, exposure to P, affects lung
development in children, including reversible deficits in lung function as well as
chronically reduced lung growth rate and a deficit in long9term lung function. +here
is no evidence of a safe level of exposure or a threshold below which no adverse
health effects occur. +he exposure is ubi3uitous and involuntary, increasing the
significance of this determinant of health.
:xposure to P,/.0 reduces the life expectancy of the population of the Degion by
about K.6 months on average. It could be increased by approximately /. months if
the long9term P,/.0 concentration is reduced.




1.

"eferences
1. arman, *.!., *ingh, Damesh., %egi, ,.P.*., hargava, *.E., Fine particles $P,
/.0
' in
ambient air of -ucknow city due to fireworks on Diwali festival, Mournal of
:nvironmental iology $/..F'.
/. "mbient "ir and %oise Pollution -evels ; Deepawali, /.1@B Press Delease, !entral
Pollution !ontrol oard, Delhi.
@. +hakur, ., !hakraborty, *., Debsarkar, "., *rivastava, D.!., "ir Pollution from
fireworks during festival of lights $Deepawali' in 8owrah, India ; " !ase *tudy,
"tmNsfera vol./@ no.5 ,Oxico 4ct. /.1.
5. *ingh, D.P., )adi Danu, ,andal, +.E., *tudy of temporal variation in ambient air
3uality during Diwali festival in India, :nvironmental ,onitoring "ssessment
$/.1.'.
0. 8ealth effects of Particulate ,atter, Porld 8ealth 4rgani?ation.
6. Mimoda, -."., :ffects of Particulate ,atter on 8uman 8ealth, the :cosystem,
!limate and ,aterialsA " Deview, Porking and -iving :nvironmental Protection
2ol. F, /.1/.
<. ,ethods for ,onitoring Particulate !oncentrations, Department for :nvironment
Food and Dural "ffairs, (E