Contaminated Land
Dhaka’s Hazaribagh area, widely known for its tannery industry, has been listed as one of the top 10 polluted places on earth by two international research organizations. At least 160,000 people have become victims of pollution due to the presence of toxic chemicals, mainly chromium.
Tanneries in the city’s Hazaribagh area discharge more than 30,000 square meters of liquid wastes every day. These harmful wastes, including chromium, lead, sulphur, ammonium, salt and other materials, are severely polluting the capital city and the river Buriganga. Apart from hexavalent chromium, which is a well-known carcinogen, workers and residents of Hazaribagh also face a number of less severe but common health problems every day. Skin and respiratory diseases, for instance, result from repeated exposure to hazardous chemicals when measuring and mixing them as part of the tanning process. Acid burns, rashes, aches, dizziness, and nausea are also common health problems faced by local residents.
The homes of tannery workers in Hazaribagh are built next to contaminated streams, ponds, and canals. Informal leather recyclers who burn scraps of leather to produce a number of consumer products also heavily pollute the air. There are 270 registered tanneries in Bangladesh, employing around 8,000-12,000 people. Around 95% of the tanneries are located in Hazaribagh on 25 hectares of land, and most use old, outdated and inefficient processing methods. All the toxic wastewater eventually makes its way into the Buriganga River, which is considered to be Dhaka’s lifeline. Thousands of people depend on the river daily for bathing, washing clothes, irrigation of food and transportation of goods. The river has suffered extreme biodiversity loss and has now turned black.
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Years 2014 – 2015
Photos and text: Suvra Kanti Das
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- A man stands on the roof of a factory in the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh. © Suvra Kanti Das
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- Bangladeshi workers process leather inside a factory at the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh. © Suvra Kanti Das
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- A worker cleans the lather processing drum at the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh. © Suvra Kanti Das
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- A Bangladeshi worker processes animal hides in the tannery at Hazaribagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The water they’re wading in, without using safety gear is laced with toxic compounds including arsenic and chromium sulfate. © Suvra Kanti Das
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- A Bangladeshi worker processes animal hides in the tannery at Hazaribagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Chemicals are used to make the leather soft and supple, but can cause cancer in humans, Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- A Bangladeshi worker covers his face to protect himself from toxic dust in a wastage lather processing factory at Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- A Bangladeshi tannery worker works without any safety gear. The chemicals used in tannery, make the leather soft and supple, but can cause cancer in humans, Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- After processing, workers hang leather for drying inside of a factory at the Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- The dumping of waste from the tannery directly into the river Buriganga causes heavy water pollution and environmental hazards. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- Kids play with animal wastes where trash and toxic chemicals fill canals which flow out into the Buriganga River. Hazaribagh houses 95% of Bangladesh’s leather tanneries, and every day 30,000 cubic liters of toxic waste are being dumped, including the cancer-causing chromium, into the capital city’s main river and key water supply, the Burgiganga, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- Kids play where trash and toxic chemicals fill canals which flow out into the Buriganga River. Hazaribagh was just listed in a report by Green Cross Switzerland and Blacksmith Institute as the 5th most polluted place on earth.
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- A man collects oil from the wastage lather at Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This oil will be used for making soap.
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- A man smokes a cigaratte in front of a waste lather processing factory, Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2013, the Green Cross Switzerland and the Blacksmith Institute published a report on the most polluted places in the world. The report “The Top Ten Toxic Threats, Clean Up, Progress and Ongoing Challenges,” puts Hazaribagh at number five.
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- A boy plays with a dog nearby the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga. Each day more than 5,000 gallons of hexavalent chromium is dumped into the Buriganga river. Dhaka, Bangladesh
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- Children’s are posing for a portrait at the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- A Bangladeshi boy works inside a tannery factory at the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hazaribagh was listed as the fifth most polluted place on earth according to a report published last year by Zurich-based Green Cross Switzerland and New York-based Blacksmith Institute.
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- Children play football in a field near to a tannery in Hazaribagh area. Hazaribagh is one of the most polluted areas in the world. Tanneries in the city’s Hazaribagh area discharge more than 30000 square meters of liquid waste every day. The tanneries discharge the effluents into the river system causing a large area of acid sludge. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- A Bangladeshi child worker Alim,11, takes his bath inside of a tannery at Hazaribagh area, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2013, the Zurich-based Green Cross Switzerland and the New York-based Blacksmith Institute published a report on the most polluted places in the world. The report “The Top Ten Toxic Threats, Clean Up, Progress and Ongoing Challenges,” puts Hazaribagh at number five. Each day in Hazaribaugh, more than 5,000 gallons of hexavalent chromium is dumped into the Buriganga river.
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- In 2013, the Zurich-based Green Cross Switzerland and the New York-based Blacksmith Institute published a report on the most polluted places in the world. The report “The Top Ten Toxic Threats, Clean Up, Progress and Ongoing Challenges,” puts Hazaribagh at number five. Each day in Hazaribaugh, more than 5,000 gallons of hexavalent chromium is dumped into the Buriganga river.
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- Mohammad Habib, 90, takes rest after leather processing in a factory of the Hazaribagh tannery area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Habib has been working in Hazaribagh tanneries for 55 years, seeing the change in the area over the decades, especially the increase in pollution with hundreds of factories operating without any safety measures. Despite his age, Habib has no option but to work in order to survive, after his two wives died of cancer and his children got married and moved away.
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- Cluster of worms inside a tannery factory at Hazaribagh, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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- Because of the acidic environment, trees and plants are dying in Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tanneries in the city’s Hazaribagh area discharge more than 30000 square meters of liquid waste every day. The tanneries discharge the effluents into the water system causing a large area of acid sludge.
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- A woman stands in front of a pond full with toxic chemical and animal waste at Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tanneries in the city’s Hazaribagh area discharge more than 30000 square meters of liquid waste every day. The tanneries discharge the effluents into the water system causing a large area of acid sludge. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
