But He Hong, professor in chemistry and environment industry with the Beijing University of Technology, said fireworks mostly cause PM2.5 rather than heavy metal pollution.
"Fireworks contain aluminum, magnesium and sodium, which are light metals, and won't be highly toxic," he said.
"Heavy metals might be contained in substandard fireworks, which are toxic and can cause pollution," He said.
China's official quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced Tuesday that around 17 percent of fireworks failed to meet the quality standards, Xinhua reported.
Zhang Jinliang, professor with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, said that if the weather forecast shows that smog is likely to form during the festival, the government should include a fireworks ban into its emergency measures, and rigorously enforce it.
"If not, it's better to take a soft way rather than a forceful stand to ban fireworks. The government can publicize the bad effects of setting off fireworks as well as raise the prices so fewer people will buy them," she noted.
Last year, over 170 tons of waste was produced by fireworks on Spring Festival Eve in Beijing, according to Chinanews.com on January 23, 2012.
Copyright ©1999-2011 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
