A constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)
(AUTONOMOUS ORGANISATION UNDER THE DEPT. OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, GOVT. OF INDIA)
Firecrackers are low-intensity pyrotechnics used in celebrations and festive occasions to express joy and happiness by witnessing illuminating colours and noise through small-scale explosive reactions. Bursting of firecrackers during festivals releases various pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and metals like barium. These pollutants can worsen air quality, particularly in already polluted areas, leading to serious health hazards.
In light of pollution caused during the bursting of firecrackers in festive seasons, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on the sale and use of firecrackers on 23 October 2018, through its order (Ref: Writ Petition (Civil) No. 728/2015) of “No sale of conventional crackers except for green firecrackers” developed by CSIR-NEERI.
The firecrackers developed and demonstrated by CSIR-NEERI with reduced emissions are called “Green firecrackers”. Green firecrackers are pyrotechnic devices that use modified chemical formulations and/or optimized composition of firecracker raw materials to improve burning efficiency and reduce emissions of particulate matter (30% and above), gases like SO2, NOx, and other toxic substances, while maintaining visual and sound effects within safe limits (< 125 dBA).
In view of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India’s order dated 15 October 2025, permieng the use of green firecrackers across India, including the NCR region, there is an anticipated substantial increase in the testing workload. To address this emerging national requirement, a National Centre of Excellence on Green Firecrackers (NCoE-GF) at CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur was inaugurated on 02 December 2025 by Dr. (Mrs.) N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of CSIR and Secretary, DSIR. Also, a Centre of Excellence at CSIR-CECRI (CoE-GF), Karaikudi is proposed for establishment of firecrackers testing and R&D facility work jointly with the NCoE-GF of CSIR-NEERI to share responsibility of CSIR-NEERI’s testing of firework products for banned chemicals and pollution during the bursting of firecrackers. The NCoE at CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, serve as the National Nodal Centre for testing, research, and approval of green firecrackers and function as the authorized signatory for all test reports, directives, and associated technical documentation.
Fireworks/fire crackers having new and improved formulations (substitution and reduction of raw materials in composition) to reduce emissions with specific reference to particulate matter (PM*), SO2 and NO2 as:
*metals are sub-set of PM
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR in 2017. This imposition leads to loss of employment of 5 lakhs families and effect the Rs.6000 Crores annual turnover of Indian firework industry. The Hon’ble Minister of Science & Technology, Govt of India exhorted to develop low emission firecrackers to address environmental concerns in view of the Court’s order. In 2019, CSIR-NEERI developed “new formulations” without emission reductions about 30% and above as compared to conventional firecrackers.
Some of the examples of the firecrackers include:
The reduction in emissions were achieved by optimizing the ratio of fuel and oxidizer in the composition and addition of certain chemicals/reagents as additives to improve the structural integrity and burning efficiency. Another improvement is non-barium salts used in firework formulations. Barium salts are banned in India due to their negative environmental and health impacts.
The newly developed formulations were commercialized and in market CSIR-NEERI developed green crackers are only allowed in India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India also suggested for better formulations with emission reductions better than 30% by the R&D and innovation.
In Fig.3, conventional and green firecracker emissions during the bursting of firecrackers is depicted. In this direction, the new formulations with a reduction in the size of shell, elimination of ash usage, reduced usage of raw materials in the compositions, (of and uniform acceptable quality of raw material, and/or use of additives as dust suppressants to reduce emissions.
Safe water releaser (SWAS) a new formulation developed with the composition of aluminum, sulfur, potassium nitrate and polymer hydrogel reduced pollution levels about 30-35% without losing the functional integrity of the firecracker.
During bursting of firecracker, the polymer hydrogel in the firecracker formulation released into the atmosphere and captured the particulate matter about 30% as compared to conventional firecrackers. Another new formulation is related to improving the burning efficiency by adding iron oxide. The composition of safe thermite (STAR) formulation includes about 40% of iron oxides facilitates efficient burning of fuel during bursting of firecrackers.
The use of aluminum is reduced by the addition of zeolite-based materials in another new SAFAL formulation. All these new formulations were patented and commercialized. All green firework formulations developed has specified emission reductions. For example, STAR-F Flower the emission reduction achieved for PM10 and PM2.5 were 45.5 and 35.6%, respectively.
In the similar way, SWAS formulation of sound emission firecrackers, the noise emission was 105-115 dBA. During issue of certificates, CSIR-NEERI issues emission reduction test reports by comparing with to the conventional firework emissions. The emission factors were calculated based on IS:5182 (P-23 and P-26) – 2006 procedures.
Currently, in the Centre an array of new formulations is developing with emission reductions higher than 50% without using banned chemicals in the firework formulations.
The testing of firework materials will follow standard quality control protocols such as determination of MU, participation in ILC/PT program, equipment calibration and use of certified reference materials
During bursting of firecrackers, the emissions are monitored in a specially designed emission testing facility as depicted in Fig.5.
In this testing facility the following compartment are arranged to capture air emissions:
Particulates were measured gravimetrically and the dissolved gases in scrubbing solution were measured spectrophotometrically. The procedure for air capture and measurement of pollutants follows testing methods prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India.
During bursting of firecrackers, emission of noise is causing discomfort and hearing problems to nearby population. In the National Centre, noise monitoring and measurement facility is created for testing of noise emissions during bursting of firecrackers.
Noise measurements are carried out using Type 1 Integrating Sound Level Meter with a free-field microphone. The measurement procedure follows the Standard Method, IEC 804 | BS 6698 Grade I or ANSI Type I or ICE 61672-1(2002-5) Class-1. Environmental conditions during noise monitoring are (1) wind velocity shall not > 5 m/s and (2) relative humidity < 60% to be followed strictly.
The noise measurements shall be made on a hard and horizontal concrete surface of a 5 m dia. Please refer Fig.6.
The purity of raw materials used in the firework formulation is an important criterion. Most commonly used chemicals in fireworks manufacturing are testing in the Centre. The procedures followed are Indian Standard methods and the methods of testing includes titrimetric, gravimetric, spectrophotometric, thermogravimetric and combination of these methods.
The laboratory developed specifically for testing of purity of raw materials is depicted in Fig.7(a). The test method for presence of banned chemicals such as Ba, Pb, Cr and other elements using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) - highly precise – achieve lower detection of 0.01% of elements was developed in this Centre.
The XRF used in the testing is depicted in Fig.7(b). This method is a rapid, sensitive and sample non-destructive method.
The firework manufacturers and other stakeholders can test the firework samples in NCoE-GF by following the steps:
The flow-chart for testing of firework samples at NCoE-GF as follows:
Online system is developed for sample receipt and payment to the Centre of CSIR-NEERI. After receipt of payment (Step 1), the firework manufacturer to submit sample at CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur. Based on the workload, CSIR-NEERI may allocate samples to RACE facility at Sivakasi or Centre of Excellence (CoE) at CSIR-CECRI, Karaikudi for testing.
As per the directives of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, only green firecrackers registered with CSIR-NEERI are allowed in India.
To facilitate ease in registration with CSIR-NEERI, a transparent and simple on-line procedure is developed. The registration is given only the firework manufacturers with PESO license for explosive manufacturing or any other authority (at district level, District Magistrate) will be given registration. The registration is product-specific and issued to firework manufacturers one-time only. There is no renewal of registration.
The procedure for registration is as follows:
The preparation of commercial-grade green firecrackers require hands-on training and the Centre provides training to firework manufacturers through Govt agencies (such as MSME) or firework associations. In this training, staff of the Centre provides better understanding and safety considerations during green firecrackers manufacturing.
The preparation of additives or CSIR-NEERI developed new formulations will be explained in details including quality control. To avoid fire accidents during the firecrackers manufacturing, standard operating procedures will be explained to avert accidents and non-compliance.
In the training, the participants will be provided list of Do’s and don’ts, for example, no exposure of additives to moisture, no usage of natural minerals (iron oxide), minimal Na2O to avoid reaction with aluminium and other safety issues.
| Dr. S. Venkata Mohan | Director | Mentor of the Centre |
| Dr. R. J. Krupadam | Chief Scientist | Head of the Centre and overall coordination |
| Dr. P. Nagababu | Principal Scientist | Composition/banned testing and development of new green firework formulations |
| Dr. G. Saravanan |CZC | Principal Scientist | Supervision of fireworks testing at CSIR-NEERI facility at Sivakasi |
| Dr. Shilpa Kumari | Principal Scientist | Planning and coordination of training programs |
| Dr. G. Hippargi | Senior Technical officer | Analytical/Testing Methods/ Instrumentation |
| Er. Satish Lokhande | Principal Technical officer | Noise testing and reporting |
| Dr. Asheesh Sharma | Senior Principal Scientist | Website and updating green fireworks related information |
| Dr. P.R. Salve | Chief Scientist | Nodal officer for issue of certificates/ registration and business development activities related to fireworks |
