印度首都新德里的排灯节烟花禁令引发了污染争议

Fireworks in India have played a huge role in the nation’s celebrations for centuries but in the past few years, amid concerns of pollution and health hazards, attitudes have changed, and rows have exploded, although many say there is far more to poor air quality than a few days a year of bangers.
The capital, Delhi, experiences an annual deterioration in air quality during the Diwali festive season, which starts in October. Officials said the city’s air quality index will be in the “poor” category for the next few days.
Farmers burning crop stubble also causes poor air quality, though, as do vehicle and industrial emissions. But wanting to create loud and colourful explosions for fun is increasingly leading to uproar, all against the backdrop of the fireworks industry in India being the world’s second largest, after China.
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that only “green” fireworks would be permitted, and only after safety checks. Three years later the court also banned the use of barium nitrate, which is toxic. Its removal, though, has meant a lower shelf life for firecrackers, another impact on manufacturers and their supply chains.

几个世纪以来，烟花在印度的庆祝活动中发挥了巨大的作用，但在过去几年中，由于对污染和健康危害的担忧，人们的态度发生了变化，他们爆发了很多争吵，尽管许多人表示，空气质量差远不是一年内几天燃放烟花爆竹造成的。
在10月开始的排灯节期间，首都德里的空气质量每年都在恶化。官员表示，未来几天，该市的空气质量指数将处于“较差”类别。
然而，农民焚烧农作物残茬也会导致空气质量的下降，汽车和工业排放物也是如此。但是，在印度烟花爆竹产业成为仅次于中国的世界第二大烟花爆竹产业的背景下，想要制造出响亮多彩的烟花爆竹来取乐的想法正日益引发争议。
2018年，最高法院裁定，只有在安全检查之后，才允许燃放“绿色”烟花。三年后，法院还禁止使用有毒的硝酸钡。然而，它的移除意味着烟花爆竹的保质期的缩短，这对制造商及其供应链造成了另一个影响。

But they often still use polluting chemicals, albeit in lower quantities. Emissions can include carcinogenic metals and some pollutants, like nitrogen oxide, can lead to respiratory diseases or heart failure.
The government’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) decides what can and cannot go into green crackers, saying “green fireworks are made of fewer raw materials and additives. Such fireworks must not contain highly toxic materials like lithium, barium, lead and arsenic”.
But merely “inserting the word green” does not make fireworks safe, said Arup Halder, a pulmonologist (specialising in lung conditions) and environmental expert. He told an Indian newspaper he “couldn’t find any scientific study in the public domain on the impact of green crackers on human health”.

他们仍然经常使用污染性化学品，尽管数量较少，但最终的排放物可能包括致癌金属和一些可能导致呼吸系统疾病或心力衰竭污染物（如氮氧化物）。
政府国家环境工程研究所（NEERI）决定什么可以（以及什么不可以）加入绿色烟花爆竹，它们称“绿色烟花由更少的原材料和添加剂制成，此类烟花不得含有锂、钡、铅和砷等剧毒物质”。
但仅仅插入“绿色”一词并不能保证烟花的安全，阿鲁普·哈尔德（Arup Halder）说。他是肺病专家（专门研究肺部疾病）和环境专家，他告诉一家印度报纸，他“在公共领域找不到任何关于绿色烟花对人类健康影响的科学研究”。

But Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on October 12 requested his Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, allow the sale of fireworks as “the livelihoods of millions of workers in the firecracker manufacturing industry in the state were at stake”.
“There are several contributing factors for air pollution in Indian cities, which include vehicular and industrial emissions. Hence, this calls for a balanced view, taking into consideration the negligible incremental pollution for a few days and the livelihoods involved,” Stalin said.
The Indian fireworks industry’s annual turnover is 80-billion-rupee (US$966 million) and Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi, about 550km (340 miles) from the capital Chennai, is the sector’s hub, with over 1000 manufacturing units and 650,000 dependent families.

但是，10月12日，泰米尔纳德邦首席部长MK Stalin要求他的德里同行阿尔文德·凯里瓦尔（Arvind Kejriwal）允许出售烟花，因为“该邦烟花爆竹制造业数百万工人的生计岌岌可危”。
Stalin说：“印度城市的空气污染有几个原因，其中包括车辆和工业排放。因此，考虑到几天内可忽略的增量污染和所涉及的生计，这需要一个平衡的观点”。
印度烟花行业的年营业额为800亿卢比（9.66亿美元），距离首府金奈约550公里（340英里）的泰米尔纳德邦的西瓦卡西是该行业的中心，那里拥有1000多家制造单位和65万个依赖该行业维生的家庭。

Sources said that Delhi and the nearby National Capital Region (NCR) usually account for around 30 per cent of the nation’s demand for crackers but sales are down in other areas too. Manufacturers are looking at massive losses as other states, including Orissa and Rajasthan, have also ordered partial bans or specific timings on when Diwali fireworks can be set off.
Chemical engineer Mathan Deivendran, who owns Lima Fireworks in Sivakasi, said making green crackers was “not an easy process, especially without using barium nitrate”.
Crackers absorb moisture without it which reduces shelf life, he said, adding that barium “is not carcinogenic and is present in everything from breast milk to vegetables”.
He also said the court’s ban was “arbitrary” based on air quality in Delhi being “applied to the rest of the nation. The blanket bans are made weeks before Diwali, after all our stocks have been shipped and wholesalers and retailers are stuck with stock that took months to make”.

消息人士表示，德里和附近的国家首都地区（NCR）通常占全国烟花需求的30%左右，但其他地区的销量在下降。由于包括奥里萨邦和拉贾斯坦邦在内的其他邦也已下令部分禁止烟花燃放，或规定燃放排灯节烟花的具体时间，制造商正面临巨大的损失。
在西瓦卡西拥有利马烟花厂的化学工程师马汉·迪文德兰（Mathan Deivendran）表示，制作绿色烟花“不是一个容易的过程，尤其是不使用硝酸钡的情况下”。
他说，烟花在没有钡的情况下会吸收水分，这会缩短保质期。他补充说，钡“不会致癌，因为从母乳到蔬菜，任何东西都含有钡”。
他还表示，法院的禁令是“武断的”，因为它们把德里的空气质量“等同于全国其他地区”。全面禁令是在排灯节前几周制定的，由于我们所有的库存都已经发货，批发商和零售商都被困在了几个月的库存中”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

G Abiruben, the boss of Ayyan Fireworks and vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) pointed to a 2017 report by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur that does not even list firecrackers in the top 15 contributors to air pollution.
But the Supreme Court refused to accept that, despite evidence that suggested construction dust may be the biggest culprit when it comes to air pollution, followed by vehicle fumes and poor infrastructure.
Abiruben said Delhi had “not taken any concrete steps against farmers for burning stubble because they [the government] fear protests, they are against our industry which is far away in South India … and we are the scapegoats”.

Ayyan Fireworks的老板兼泰米尔纳德邦烟花和火药制造商协会（TANFAMA）副主席G Abiruben指出，印度坎普尔理工学院（Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur）2017年的一份报告甚至没有将鞭炮列入导致空气污染的原因的前15名。
尽管有证据表明，在空气污染方面，建筑粉尘可能是最大的罪魁祸首，其次是汽车尾气和糟糕的基础设施，但最高法院拒绝接受这一说法。
Abiruben表示，德里“没有采取任何具体措施反对农民焚烧秸秆，因为他们（政府）害怕抗议，他们却反对我们这些远在南印度的产业……我们是替罪羊”。

Vir Singh, a Delhi advertising professional, wondered about air quality throughout the year “instead of focusing on two days” and “ruining the livelihoods of rural men and women”. He said the government should also look at stubble burning and thermal plants “and help Delhi breathe better”.
In recent years the fireworks industry has also been under the spotlight due to a spate of accidents. But Abiruben said there were only a few rogue factories. “More than 95 per cent follow safety regulations,” he added. “Accidents happen if care is not taken.”
A ban on fireworks has also become a religious issue, as they are generally only part of Hindu festivals. Ram Natarajan, an IT professional in Chennai, said environmental concerns should be balanced “with culture and celebrations” and the use of green fireworks. “To ban firecrackers is just an extreme step”.

新德里广告专业人士维尔·辛格（Vir Singh）对全年（而不是专注于两天）的空气质量感到疑惑，“这破坏了农村男女的生计”。他说，政府还应该关注秸秆焚烧和热电厂，“并帮助德里更好地呼吸”。
近年来，烟花爆竹行业也因一系列事故而备受关注。但Abiruben表示，这只是少数不规范的工厂造成的。“超过95%的工厂会遵守安全规定，”他补充道。“因为如果不小心，就会发生事故。”
禁止烟花也成了一个宗教问题，因为烟花通常是印度教节日的一部分。金奈的IT专业人士拉姆·纳塔拉詹（Ram Natarajan）表示，环境问题应该“与文化和庆祝活动”以及绿色烟花的使用相平衡，“禁止鞭炮只是一个极端的步骤”。