What are safer fireworks alternatives?, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• During the 2025 Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala, noise levels reached 122.4 decibels, near the permissible limit for firecrackers.
• Social scientist Rajan Gurukkal raised concerns about the impact of fireworks noise on hospitals, especially neonatal ICUs.
• An explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode killed 13 people and injured 40 others.
• Cold spark technology is being proposed as a noiseless alternative to traditional fireworks.
• Cold sparkulars operate at 60-100°C, significantly lower than traditional sparklers at 1,200°C.
• A single cold anar costs around ₹400 and is largely manufactured in China.
• Rajan Gurukkal suggests an incremental transition to cold spark technology, starting with the Thrissur Pooram festival.

Detailed Insights:

• Elephants are disoriented by the structure and frequency of noise, as evidenced by incidents at the Thrissur Pooram festival.
• The National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network recommends 45-55 decibels in residential areas and 40-50 decibels in silence zones like hospitals.
• Noise pollution is the third most hazardous environmental threat to human health, according to the World Health Organization.
• Cold spark technology uses a chemical combustion reaction of fine granulated metal alloy powders like titanium and zirconium.
• Cold sparkulars use a heater and fan to warm and eject fine alloy powder, creating a sparkler-like effect with no noise.
• Contemporary stage technologies and televisions employ cold spark systems to generate bright, sparkling light without explosive combustion.
• Arrays of cold spark units can be deployed across open grounds to create visual effects, even mounted on towers to extend the visual field.
• Delhi, which experienced its loudest Diwali in three years, could benefit from cold spark technology to reduce noise pollution.
• An incremental transition strategy in Kerala, starting with the Thrissur Pooram, is recommended to integrate large-scale cold spark-based displays.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Decibel: A unit used to measure the intensity of a sound.
• Exothermic Reaction: A chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of heat and light.
• Combustion: A rapid chemical process involving the reaction between a substance with an oxidant, usually oxygen, to produce heat and light.