Industrial activities have already caused contamination of water bodies due to metals such as lead, arsenic, copper, cadmium, mercury and nickel. We cannot afford to add more pollutants in the name of festive occasions
The months of September to November of every year are the most trying times for the environment in India. The festivities beginning with Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja culminate in immersion of countless idols across the country in water bodies, polluting them with hazardous synthetic colours, fibreglass and plaster of paris. As the water bodies reel under this onslaught, the festival of Diwali renders the air thick with smog in its wake, besides creating immense noise pollution.
Over the past decade, an increasingly aware population coupled with a determined Government have helped tone down the damage done to the environment due to festive celebrations. However, air quality and noise levels continue to be adversely affected each year, and more disturbing facts are emerging on the deep-rooted nature of pollution caused by the fireworks manufactured and used during festivals. Many water bodies across the country are now witnessing a spike in perchlorate levels during the Diwali season.
Perchlorate is a chemical that is extensively used in the arms and ammunition industry, but the most common usage of perchlorate is in the fireworks and safety matches manufacturing industries where the inorganic compound is used as an oxidant to promote combustion. According to a paper published recently in the Journal of Environmental Health Sciences & Engineering, water samples from a cross-section of Indian States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Puducherry were analysed and found to have abnormal levels of perchlorate.
According to the studies, the concentration levels of perchlorate was found to be higher in groundwater samples collected near firecracker and related products manufacturing areas in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. The contamination density increased during the Diwali season as the nearly 450 firecracker factories and safety-match industries worked in full swing to cater to the festive demand. This has led to perchlorate levels peaking in the groundwater table of Sivakasi.
The neighbouring State of Kerala also suffers from the same problem as the Isro’s ammonium perchlorate experimental plant at Aluva in Ernakulam district manufactures more than 800 tonnes every year, and perchlorate utilisation as a rocket propellant at Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Centre at Thumba, Thiruvananthapuran district have resulted in climbing levels of perchlorate contamination in local water quality. A study conducted by the Department of Environmental Technology, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, confirmed the extent of the problem when the study found high levels of perchlorate contamination in water samples collected from 20 locations inKerala. The toxic pollutant was found in samples collected from piped water, open wells and groundwater sources.
The World Health Organisation established a provisional maximum tolerable daily intake of 0.01 mg/kg body weight for perchlorate — more than which can prove harmful to human health. Excess perchlorate in human bodyacts as a potential thyroid disrupter and affects the uptake of iodide causing hypothyroidism and associated health effects in foetuses, infants and pregnant women.
A number of animal studies have reported perchlorate-induced toxicities including delayed metamorphosis, haemolytic anemia, and thyroid tumor development. Studies in coastal areas of Kerala have found that a considerable section of the population suffers from thyroid disorders as well as a high incidence of thyroid cancer compared to other states. The health consequences are much higher for people engaged in the firecracker and match industries.
Globally, perchlorate contamination is already being viewed seriously. The US Environmental Protection Agency has decided to develop a regulation for perchlorate to protect Americans from health impacts. This initiative was based on studies carried out by the EPA that found measurable amounts of perchlorate in 26 States and two US territories, enough to contaminate drinking water of up to 17 million Americans. Currently, the EPA is evaluating the feasibility and affordability of treatment technologies to remove perchlorate from water bodies.
India must wake up to the growing perchlorate problem, since the Government is yet to define drinking water and wastewater standards for perchlorate levels. As a part of the initiative to curb rising perchlorate levels, there needs to be frequent monitoring of groundwater samples around places where perchlorate is handled in bulk. Also, detailed epidemiological studies and monitoring surveys need to be carried out in the contaminated areas to assess the connections between the presence of the contaminant and its impact on the health of the local people.
Industrial activities have already caused contamination of water bodies due to metals such as lead, arsenic, copper, cadmium, mercury and nickel. We cannot afford to add more pollutants to our beleaguered rivers and groundwater in the name of festive celebrations.