Fuelled by a growing international appetite for leather, the industry represents a sizeable chunk of Bangladesh’s yearly export revenues — $284 million in 2007-08. There are about 200 leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh district of Dhaka, the capital. Some use modest technology and machinery, but most operate as they did decades ago and release untreated toxic chemical waste near residential areas.
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A young girl lives and plays next to a brook of tannery wastewater. The fumes released by the chemicals in the water can cause serious health problems.
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Pools of blood-red tannery waste gather next to bamboo shacks where many workers live.
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Wastewater containing formic acid, chromium, sulfuric acid and manganese makes its way into the streets of Hazaribagh, releasing a horrible stench.
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The tanneries evacuate their toxic effluent into canals like these that run above ground alongside every road in Hazaribagh.
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Stagnant water turns green with cyanobacteria. There are many water bodies, like this one near the tannery district, that connect to the Buriganga River.
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Health related issues, such as chronic respiratory problems and skin ulcers, are common within the population living next to the tanneries.
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Most tannery workers spend their days in the dark, working in poorly lit factories.
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A worker takes a contemplative break. Most tanneries have no ventilation system to evacuate the fumes that are released from the tanning process.
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In one of the first steps of the tanning process, a worker shuffles barefoot into toxic water. Over the course of 10 hours, this cocktail of chemicals burns the hair off of the rawhides and gives it its blue colour. Photo by Daniel Lanteigne, CC-by-nc-nd.
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Uncertainty looms among the residents of Hazaribagh over talk of moving the tanneries to an area outside of Dhaka.
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Workers stand knee deep without any protective clothing in tanning water as they transfer rawhides into another tank.
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For this tannery worker, an improvised shower is a welcomed alternative to bathing in the polluted Buriganga River.
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With water scarcity a reality, many don’t have a choice but to continue washing their clothes in the Buriganga.
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Over the black waters of the Buriganga, merchants unload shipments of fresh produce destined for city markets.
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Profit loss due to lack of navigability during the dry season seems to be the main reason a Buriganga River cleansing operation has been started. The plan aims to excavate 3 to 4 meters of accumulated industrial waste from the riverbed.
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With little and old equipment, the riverbed excavation project aims to remove 3,000 tonnes of sludge from the riverbed. The mammoth task that has generated much skepticism in the media inches along at a snails pace.
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Business as usual in Hazaribagh. The tanneries evacuate 22,000 cubic meters of untreated liquid toxic waste daily into the Buriganga.
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All photographs are by Daniel Lanteigne and are Creative Commons ‘Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives‘ licensed.
