The state pollution control board (PCB) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) will set up a laboratory to test green firecrackers in Haldia, in East Midnapore, officials said.
Now, all firecracker samples are sent to the NEERI headquarters in Nagpur.
The decision to set up the laboratory in Haldia was taken at a meeting at Nabanna this month. The chief secretary presided over the meeting.
Only fireworks that are certified as green can be burst, according to a Supreme Court order.
Experts say green fireworks are less harmful for the environment than the conventional ones. A PCB official said green fireworks that produce up to 90-decibel of noise, measured at 5m from the point of blast, are allowed in the state.
“We are setting up the green firework testing lab in Haldia with NEERI. The PCB will provide the space and set up the infrastructure and NEERI will provide the technical expertise,” board chairman Kalyan Rudra said.
“We will test the samples in the Bengal lab when it comes up,” said Sadhana Rayalu, chief scientist in NEERI.
