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Bangladesh: Pollution in Leather Tanneries

In 2013 Hazaribagh, Bangladesh was listed in a report by Green Cross Switzerland and Blacksmith Institute as the 5th most polluted place on earth. It houses 95% of Bangladesh's leather tanneries, and every day they dump 22,000 cubic liters of toxic waste, including the cancer-causing hexavalent chromium, into the capital city's main river and key water supply, the Burgiganga. Most of the laborers work with the hazardous chemicals without any safety precautions, and there have been reports of horrific workplace accidents in the factories. Residents of the neighborhood slums are exposed to the extreme air, water and soil pollution. The tanneries export millions of dollars of leather good around the world, including the US and Europe. 

  • A man crosses a bridge over a polluted canal which empties out into the Buriganga river.
  • Blue colored dye and chemicals are emptied out of a leather tannery and into a canal that empties out into the Buriganga river.
  • 63 year old Abu Talib unloads leather hides from a vat of chemical mixture in a tannery, the Phoenix Leather Complex. Talib has been working in the tannery for 9 years. He says that sometimes he gets itchy rashes on his skin and has breathing problems if the mixture is especially acidic. He earns anywhere from 8,000 to 9,000 (about $102 to $115) taka a month.
  • Momin Mohammad brushes his teeth by the canal outside his home. Momin has lived here for 15 or 20 years and works loading and unloading leather in the tanneries, earning 6,000 to 7,000 (about $77 to $90) taka a month. He says that living in the neighborhood is difficult but he has no other options. Often he and his family have health problems including diarrhea, headaches and jaundice.
  • A young man removes a hide from a vat of dye and chemicals in a leather tannery.
  • Blue colored dye and chemicals are emptied out of a leather tannery and into a canal that empties out into the Buriganga river.
  • (L-R) 24 year old Mohammad Alamgir, 16 year old Mohammad Hasan, and 13 year old Biplop Mohammad work bagging animal fat that will be turned into soap.
  • Men bathe in the Buriganga river.
  • 40 year old Sharjahan unloads leather hides from a vat of chemical mixture in a tannery, the Phoenix Leather Complex.
  • 10 year old Mohammad Kadirul Islam sorts through animal waste looking for horns. His family pulled him from school one year ago and sent him to Dhaka to start making money after his father was diagnosed with cancer. The 2,000 (about $25) taka he makes a month is sent back home to his mother. Kadirul says that he wanted to stay in school and study to be a teacher. Even though his hands often get damaged with the work he does his employer won't replace the old pair of gloves he wore through.
  • Boats are docked at a ghat.
  • A young man removes a hide from a vat of dye and chemicals in a leather tannery.
  • Kokon Wasil Kabir sorts through leather scraps as he talks with Saira Banu.
  • Intro
  • Bangladesh
    • Climate Change
      • Life and Death in the Sundarbans
      • Tiger Widows
    • The Bangladesh Surf Girls (ongoing)
    • Child Marriage (ongoing)
    • The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism
    • Mental Health
    • Fashion Victims
    • Pollution in Leather Tanneries
  • India
    • Surrogacy
    • The School For Child Brides
    • Meghalaya; Where Women Rule
    • Riots and Rape in Muzaffarnagar
    • Jharia Burning
  • Rohingya in Bangladesh
    • Singles
    • Rape Survivors Speak Out
    • The Widow's Village
    • Child Marriage
  • South Asia Circus
    • India's Rambo Circus
    • Growing up in the Bangladesh Circus
  • Bangladesh/India Border Enclaves
  • Singles
  • People
  • NGO, Travel, Food, Corporate
    • Food and Travel
    • NGO
    • Corporate
  • About
  • Contact/Current Location
  • Interviews

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