No plan for fireworks ban: govt (2)

But Liu Hui, who works in marketing, said it is an important tradition.

"It makes no difference to the environment to ban the fireworks during Spring Festival, which is a short period of time. It's more useful to limit car numbers," he said.

An anonymous official with Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center said that after intensive fireworks explosions, PM2.5 reaches levels that are harmful to people's health.

The monitoring center detected 1,593 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter at a spot on the city's Second Ring Road after fireworks on Spring Festival Eve 2012, the Xinhua News Agency reported on January 24, 2012.

A media officer from Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, surnamed Yang, told the Global Times that the bureau is fully aware of the calls to ban fireworks and research is going on to study this issue, but a ban is not on the cards for this year.

"Banning fireworks requires the cooperation of environmental, police and work safety departments, not to mention we'll also need legal support. All these things can't be done in the next few days," said Yang.

Beijing Fireworks Office confirmed that the schedule for setting off fireworks for 2013's Spring Festival has not been affected yet.

Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on fireworks in the downtown in 2005. This year, fireworks can be set off from February 9 to 24 in designated areas and at certain times, according to the Beijing government website.

Pan Xiaochuan, a professor of public health with Peking University, disagrees with a total ban. 

"In good weather, particles from fireworks will soon disperse, and won't harm people's health much. Compared with auto emissions and factory waste, fireworks contribute very little to PM2.5," Pan said.