Barman S C, Singh Ramesh, Negi M P S, Bhargava S K
Environmental Monitoring Section, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, M.G. Marg, Lucknow-226 001, India.
J Environ Biol. 2009 Sep;30(5):625-32.
People burn crackers world over on different occasions in different countries to express their happiness. Fireworks in large amounts aggravate the level of air pollutants and cause significant short-term air quality degradation with possible impact on human health. Fine particles (PM2.5 < or = 2.5 microm), which may pose detrimental effects on human health and ecosystems were monitored in a residential area of Lucknow city to assess the elevated level due to bursting of firecrackers during Diwali festival. The 24 hr mean PM2.5 of normal day, pre Diwali day, Diwali day and post Diwali day was found to be 124, 154, 352 and 174 microg m(-3) respectively and much above the US-EPA limit (65 microg m(-3)). The 12 hr mean concentration of PM2.5 on Diwali night (591 microg m(-3)) increased 3.9 fold than the respective night of normal day (159 microg m(-3)) and was significantly higher (p<0.01) than normal day and pre and post Diwali night. Mean comparison showed that Diwali day was significantly (p<0.01) different from others (except post Diwali day) and for this high accumulation during night time, after fireworks (suspension) was found to be more responsible than the period of lighting of crackers (formation). This study indicated that there is high accumulation of PM2.5 generated due to fireworks on Diwali festival which remains suspended in the air for up to 20 hr During this period, extra mass burden of 289 microg m(-3) equivalent to 1.9 normal day (of this study) was imposed in the environment. The short-term high accumulation of PM2.5 is a matter of serious concern for city dwellers as it can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause many respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
在世界各地的不同国家，人们在不同场合燃放鞭炮以表达喜悦之情。大量燃放烟花会加剧空气污染物水平，导致空气质量在短期内显著恶化，并可能对人类健康产生影响。为评估排灯节期间燃放鞭炮导致的污染物水平升高，在勒克瑙市的一个居民区对可能对人类健康和生态系统产生有害影响的细颗粒物（PM2.5≤2.5微米）进行了监测。正常日、排灯节前日、排灯节当日和排灯节后日的24小时平均PM2.5浓度分别为124、154、352和174微克/立方米，远高于美国环境保护局的限值（65微克/立方米）。排灯节当晚PM2.5的12小时平均浓度（591微克/立方米）比正常日当晚（159微克/立方米）增加了3.9倍，且显著高于（p<0.01）正常日以及排灯节前、后夜晚。均值比较显示，排灯节当日与其他日期（排灯节后日除外）存在显著差异（p<0.01），并且由于夜间烟花燃放后的高浓度积累（悬浮）比鞭炮燃放期间（形成）的影响更大。该研究表明，排灯节期间烟花燃放产生的PM2.5大量积累，这些污染物会在空气中悬浮长达20小时。在此期间，环境中额外增加了相当于本研究中1.9个正常日的289微克/立方米的质量负担。短期内PM2.5的高积累是城市居民严重关切的问题，因为它可深入肺部并引发多种呼吸道和心血管疾病。
