Killing Smoke
By Dr Arvind Kumar
According to a recent study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, smoke is a strange mixture of exotic pollutants and incomplete combustion products. Of course, some people smoke cigarettes for the pleasure of it. For most people smoke is unpleasant and should be avoided. Many people watch firework displays and go “wow” and the smoke from them adds a bit of the zest to the event. It is revealed from the study that the metallic particles in the smoke emitted by fireworks pose a health risk, particularly to people who suffer from asthma.
It is observed from the report that the composition of smoke depends on the nature of the burning fuel and the conditions of combustion. Fires with high availability of oxygen burn at high temperature and with small amount of smoke produced; the particles are mostly composed of ash or complex aerosols. Carbon and hydrogen are almost completely oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. Fires burning with a lack of oxygen produce a significantly wider palette of compounds, many of them toxic.
Teresa Moreno, a lead author of a study states, “The toxicological research has shown that many of the metallic particles in the smoke from fireworks are bio-reactive and can affect human health.”
