A boy crosses over a puddle of chemical and leather waste at Harazibagh:

Dhaka's Hazaribagh area, widely known for its tannery industry, has been listed as one of the top
10 polluted places on earth with 270 registered tanneries in Bangladesh, and around 90-95
percent are located at Hazaribagh on about 25 hectares of land, employing 12,000 to 16,000
people. The homes of tannery workers 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. Half a million people living in and around Hazaribagh are suffering
and living a hazardous life because of these tanneries. Locals allege they frequently require
treatment for skin diseases, fever, cough, gastroenteritis and asthma. At least 90 percent of the
Hazaribag tannery workers die before they reach the age of 50 due to unhygienic workingenvironment. They also suffer from abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea, allergy, burning sensation
in the chest, throat, palm and toes, urinary problems and pain in the body, waist, legs, back,
throat, neck, shoulder and ankles. Most of these tannery workers are not aware of the
precautionary and safety measures at work
The treatment facility of this waste management has not yet developed in Hazaribagh. There is
no central treatment plant for treating the liquid waste and controlling the use of chemicals in
harmful quantity. As a result, the entire liquid tannery wastes carried by the city corporations
drains deposit in the low land, west of Hazaribagh. The solid wastes (tiny pieces of leather,
excess fat, flesh and hair) are piled up at roadsides in front of the tanneries. Later, these are also
thrown into the same low land. Ultimately, these liquid and solid wastes make their way into the
Buriganga River. Although the environmental protection laws require the tanners to set up ETPs
in the factories, owners never did so causing serious environmental peril.
http://fotovisura.com/user/probalrashid/view/hazaribagh-threaten-bangladesh
A child sits on the tannery waste while his mother works in the tannery recycle factory in
Hazaribagh. Dhakas Hazaribaghs area, widely known for its tannery industry, has been listed as
one of the top 10 polluted places on Earth.
Households are forced to endure the highly toxic water flowing in cannals at Hazaribagh in
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Workers of a tannery factory dyes leather in Hazaribagh, Dhaka.
Biplod (age 12 years) works at tannery in Hazaribagh, Dhaka.
Workers are boiling the waste leather materials in open spaces in Hazaribagh, Dhaka
Farmers wash vegetables for selling on the contaminated pond of water at Hazaribagh
A dumpy yard next to the residential area of Hazaribagh. Households are forced to live in the
highly polluted area.
Children play on the waste products of tannery factories at Hazaribagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sanaul (age 12 years) customizes a mask for himself at Hazaribagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
A child with his family lives in a slum near the tannery factories in Hazaribagh.

A victim of tannery factories sits in a hospital in Dhaka, suffering from asthma.

Chemical toxic and lack of labor protection and safety equipments in Hazaribagh later tanneries.
Solid wastes pile up at roadsides infornt of the tanneries.
Workers of a tannery factory dye leather
Chemical toxic and lack of labor protection and safety equipments in Hazaribagh later tanneries.
Untreated toxic waste from tanneries in Hazaribagh.
Dogs sits near sewer and contaminated pond of water in Hazaribagh, Dhaka,

HAZARIBAGH LEATHER INDUSTRY AND SLUMS IN BANGLADESH

http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/environment/leatherindustry.html

INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh has a very limited stock of known mineral resources (only
natural gas is being extracted commercially), and the economy is
heavily dependent on small-scale agriculture. Agriculture accounts for
about 40 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP and about 60 per cent of
employment.
Landless small farmers and as well as urban informal groups constitute 50 per cent of
Bangladesh's population. Fifty three per cent of rural population are virtually landless and the
result of that a very large percentage of urban population live in slums.
For example 30 per cent of the population (about 2 million) in Dhaka live in more than 1500
slums and squatter settlements, where density of settlements is over 6178 persons per hectare and
per capita living space available is lower than one square meter. The structural conditions of the
shelters are one of the worst in the world. The settlements live without open space, streets, water,
gas and electricity, water, sanitation and sewerage facilities.
Since these settlements are illegal the Government or International Aid Agencies have hardly any
project to improve living quality of the poorest population of the country. Like many other cities
of the developing countries the population of Dhaka city increased by almost 200 per cent in
seven years (1974-81) due to the increasing developments of landless peasants.
The present economic development increasingly widens the gap between the poor and the rich.
The limited agricultural land does not allow any further expansion along with the fast expanding
population of working age. In view of this problem the Government of Bangladesh is planning
for a rapid increase in industry, commerce and services (55.7 per cent of GDP). At present
industrial manufacturing accounts for about 10 per cent of GDP in Bangladesh and 10 per cent of
total employment, and contributes about three-quarters of total merchandise exports. The earliest
industries in Bangladesh were based primarily on agricultural products like jute, sugarcane,
tobacco, forest raw materials, and hides and skins.
During the mid-sixties a modern industrial base emerged as heavy industries like steel, machine
tools, electric machines, diesel plants, refineries, pharmaceutical plants and other chemical
industries were set up. From 1985 to 1990 the industrial sector achieved an average annual rate
of growth of 4.02 per cent. In recent years, the major source of industrial growth has been in

textiles, with ready-made garment manufacture expanding from insignificance in the 1970s to
the leading export earner today. Leather tanning and brackish water shrimp farming have also
expanded rapidly and are expected to grow further.
With the increase of unplanned and socially and environmentally degraded industries Bangladesh
poses a new challenge. Pollution and human-induced hazards are particularly serious in the
developing nations, because industrial production is heavily concentrated in one or two city
regions or 'core regions' within each nation.
The industrial areas in Bangladesh are situated in the midst of densely populated regions. There
are many hazardous and potentially dangerous polluting industries situated in the cities of
Bangladesh. In Dhaka at Tejgaon area, food processing industries are situated along with
chemical and heavy metal processing industries. In Tongi a pharmaceutical industry is situated
near a pesticide producing industry.
Tannery industries of Hazaribagh also situated in a heavily populated residential area. These
examples are repeated in the cities of Chittagong, Khulna and other smaller cities of Bangladesh.
The Government of Bangladesh has not shown much interest in environmental impact created by
the industries, whereas government's concern to create jobs usually meant that when a new
factory is proposed - by local, national or international business or agency - little attention is
given to the likely environmental impacts.
Tanneries discharge 21,600 square meters of liquid wastes daily
Tanneries in the city's Hazaribagh area discharge some 21,600 square meters of liquid wastes
everyday. "These harmful wastes, including chromium, lead, sulphur, ammonium, salt and other
materials, are severely polluting the capital city and the river Buriganga," State Minister for
Environment and Forest Jafrul Islam Chowdhury said this while he was visiting the Hazaribagh
industrial area yesterday.
(UNB, November 2003)
Many urban dwellers live on sites prone to hazards - rarely the government tries to help reduce
risks or to respond rapidly and effectively, if a disaster happens. Hazardous sites are often
occupied illegally; the risk of eviction from such sites is small because of any commercial value
or because they are publicly owned and the government shall not force their eviction for political
reasons. The outcome of this are:
Houses are built without providing basic amenities like water and sanitation;
Slum-lords manipulated the whole show by renting the houses to others and
expropriating exorbitant amount of money;
There are many disasters which have an impact which goes far beyond a particular house or
neighbourhood, as a result of industrial or other accidents. Bhopal shows an example, when an
industrial accident in 1984 released methyl iso-cyanate and caused the death over 3000 with
perhaps 100,000 or more seriously injured or poisoned. The situation like Bhopal threatens many
places in Bangladesh.

While the most polluted industries are decreasing in the industrial

countries a rapid increase in more environmentally degraded industries
(without effluent treatments) occurring in the developing countries. The
economic development in Bangladesh is producing more landless people
and at the same time the landless and jobless poor are gathering in cities slums
.
A typical example is Hazaribagh leather industry in Dhaka. The leather industry is situated in the
midst of a densely populated residential area surrounded by slums, where people are living
ignorantly in the one of the worst polluted areas in the world. The condition to describe the living
conditions of the slums is beyond authors capability (see Figures). The leather export is growing
and at the same time conditions of the poor are deteriorating. A case study of Hazaribagh
industrial area is proposed in this paper.
BACKGROUND
Leather sector also produces 150 tons solid waste a day
The leather industry sector, which is the fourth largest foreign exchange earner of the country
contributing about six per cent of total export earnings, produces 150 metric tons of solid waste
every day contaminating the environment and water of the metropolis.
59 per cent of the total wastage comes from processing of hides and skin, and accumulates in the
swamp-sludge, experts in the environment sector said. The experts said, "part of the solid waste is
collected by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and taken to landfill sites."
A recent research conducted by Professor S M Imamul Huq, Chairperson of Soil, Water and
Environment Department of Dhaka University revealed that out of 214 tanneries in the country,
except for two BATA and Dhaka Leather Complex-none of the tanneries has a treatment plant as
required
by
the
law.
Rice and wheat were grown in a pot experiment in soils from the tannery area. The wheat showed
delayed maturity and stunting growth while rice showed late flowering and maturity with dark
green colour. In another experiment it was observed that application of tannery effluents to soils
of differing textures resulted in reduction of yield of rice, the research said adding that the adverse
effect was more pronounced in light soils than in heavy soils. The effluent was also found to
negatively affect performance, nodulation and growth of mung beans (dal).
In his research article named "Critical Environmental Issues Relating to Tanning Industries in
Bangladesh," Professor Imamul Huq said, "most of the waste effluents are subjected to natural
decomposition in the environment, causing serious pollution problems affecting soil, water, air

and

human

life."

The finding said that the existing industries in most cases do not have any effluent treatment
plants for neutralising the toxicity and harmful effects of their pollutants.
The research recommended building of appropriate waste treatment plants for neutralising
harmful chemicals before disposal of the waste into the environment and called upon the
government to fix a legal limit value for discharge of tannery effluent to surface water.
Stressing the need for treatment methods to combat pollution including segregation of processed
waste water, sedimentation, neutralisation and biological treatment, the paper said that about half
the tanneries apply some kind of solid waste reuse, while 90 per cent of the finished trimming
wastes
are
used
by
the
local
shoemakers.
The research said, "the process of tanning produces both liquid and solid wastes. Solid wastes are
from the initial and final stages of processing while the effluents are produced mostly during
tanning and dying." The 149 operating tanneries produce 14910 metric tons of effluents or waste
water during the peak time, about 9100 metric tons during the off-peak period, the research paper
said adding that the effluents contain dissolved lime, hydrogen sulfide, acids, chromium dyes,
oils,
organic
matter
and
suspended
solids.
"The waste water is discharged into open drains and ultimately finds way onto land surface and
into natural waters in the vicinity," the research revealed. It says "about 3000 tons of sodium
sulfide and nearly 3000 tons of basic chromium sulfate are used each year for leather processing
and tanning." The other chemicals used in the tanning industry are non-ionic wetting agents,
bactericides, soda ash, calcium oxide, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, enzymes, sodium
bisulfate, sodiumchlorite, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chloride, sulfuric acid, formic acid,
sodium formate, sodium bicarbonate, vegetable tannins, syntans, resins, polyurethane, dyes,
fatemulsions,
pigments,
binders,
waxes,
lacquers
and
formaldehyde.
Out of 214 tanneries, 200 are located near the capitals river systems the Turag to north-west,
the Buriganga to the south-west and the Sitalakhya to the south-east, with Turag flowing into the
Buriganga.
The tanneries discharge the effluents and wastes into the river system causing a large area of acid
sludge alongside the flood protection embankment and the liquid wastes are dumped in the river
through
a
flood
control
regulator-cum-sluice.

During monsoon months, the flood protection embankments protect Dhaka from heavy flooding
while making it difficult to flush-out waste water, thereby creating environmental hazard. During
the dry season the waste water is flushed out into the river causing pollution of the river water and
affecting the aquatic flora and fauna. The dumping of the solid wastes is seriously affecting the
soil and plants, besides vitiating the air, groundwater and human health.
The water quality of the river Buriganga during wet season and dry season are heavily polluted so
that dissolved oxygen in the river water is found to be nil during the dry season and no fish or
other
aquatic
animals
can
live
in
this
condition.
(Source: The Independent, May 09, 2006)
The annual supply of hides and skins in Bangladesh is estimated to be about 13.95 million square
meters. Only 15-18 per cent of the total supply is needed to meet the domestic requirements and
the rest about 11.81 million square meters remains surplus for export.
The small leather industry of Indian-subcontinent developed Indian vegetable tanned crust over a
hundred years ago to preserve the hide in the safest way to suit Indian conditions. The
development of leather processing industry was started in Bangladesh in the late 1940s.
Until mid 1960s, the leather was dominated by vegetable tannage for supply to W. Pakistan, Iran
and Turkey. Manufacture of wet blue, the chrome tanned semiprocessed leather started featuring
in 1965. There was a rapid growth of tanning industry in Bangladesh during 1970s and by the
end of 70s. Until 1980-81, the export from leather sector was almost 100% in the form of wet
blue, the chrome tanned semi-processed leather
In 1977 the Government of Bangladesh imposed export duty on wet blue leather so that the
industry produces crust and finished leather. With the ban on wet blue export from July, 1990,
the leather industry of Bangladesh is entering into second phase of its development, the
conversion of finished leather into further value added leather products to earn more foreign
exchange. Promotion and Protection Act of 1980 provides protection of foreign investment in
Bangladesh. There are German, Italian etc. joint venture plants are established in Bangladesh
(M/S H. H. leather Industries Ltd, M/S BATA, M/S Lexco Ltd, M/S Apex Tannery Ltd).
The operation in tanning which give rise effluents may be categorised
into pre-tanning and post-tanning processes. Pre-tanning is employed
mainly for the removal of impurities from the raw materials. These
consist largely of protein (blood, hair, etc.) and the process chemicals
employed include salts, lime and sulphides. The tanning processes
themselves are used to alter the characteristics of skin or hide and their effluents contain
chromium and vegetable or synthetic tanning. Post-tanning process include coloration and

produce effluents typical of these addition processes; that is, containing residues of dyestuffs or
pigments and larger quantities of auxiliary chemicals.
The process chemicals employed are a variety of inorganic and organic materials, affecting total
solids, pH, COD and of particular importance are the applicable quantities of sulphide and of
heavy metals.
Hazardous chemicals for leather and dyes treatments are Ammonium Bicarbonate, Chromic
Acetate, Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether, Methylamine, o-Nitrophenol, Toulene Diamine,
2,4,5-Trichlorphenol, Zinc Hydrosulfite, Zinc Sulfate, tert-Butylamine, Cadmium Nitrate,
Cadmium (II) Acetate, Copper(2)Nitrate, 1,4-1,8 Dichloronaphthalene, Nickel Sulfate, o-Xylene,
Zinc Nitrate etc. For example Chromic Acetate shows the following characteristics (Sax, 1986):
Potential for Accumulation: Positive
Food Chain Contamination Potential: Positive, can be concentrated in food chain.
Etiologic Potential: Chrome ulcer
Carciniogenecity: Potential, higher occurrence of lung cancer
Acute hazard Level: Extremely toxic if ingested or inhaled. Corrosive to living
tissue.
Degree of Hazard to Public Health: Highly toxic material via ingestion or
inhalation. Corrosive to skin and mummer; potential carcinogenic.
At present in Bangladesh the tanner's basic wet process technique is to treat the stock with
increasing concentrations of process chemicals using water as the carrier. In order to ensure full
penetration of the thickest hide or skin in the batch, these concentrations are in excess of what is
needed and the unabsorbed chemicals are discharged in the effluent, where they are a waste and
cause expensive treatment problems.
While the Chemical companies in the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States, the
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain and Italy provide short term training on the application of
their chemicals, Whereas they do not provide any assistance how to treat toxic effluents that
increasingly contaminate surface and ground water. Consultant provide technological transfer
and management either on arm's length fee paying basis on assignment or financed by the World
Bank, UNIDO, ITC or other United agencies.
The small cottage tanners of Hazaribagh producing sandal leather out of cow heads are probably
the only tanning group in the world using waste tanning liquor from the modern tanners as their
process liquor. But after using these waste are eventually discharged, as are all other tannery
discharges in the Hazaribagh tanning effluents into the streets, gutters and sewers which
ultimately enter surface and ground water.
According to Dittfurth and Rhring (1987) about 250 different toxic chemicals and heavy metals
like cadmium, chromium, arsenic, zinc etc. are used by the leather industry. When the local
industry was basically a vegetable tanning complex, this effluent might have been high in BOD
and unpleasant but particularly dangerous.

There is, in addition, an extremely hazardous air pollution occur in

Hazaribagh which is not known in any other places of the world. The
rest treated hides and skins are cooked in open air to obtain glue for the
local market. They burn treated leather pieces instead of coal or wood as
it is cheaper. The smog and the smell like a witch cooking pot and it is
beyond author's capability to narrate. The most hazard occurs when the
poorer group uses poisonous treated leather pieces as an alternative fuel
to cook regular meals.
No body knows how much harm and potential carcinogen diseases will occur to the slum
inhabitants. There is no warning from the Government or aid giving agencies or their
representatives. This is the vicious circle that the poorest groups are the worst victims of the
foreign currency earning schemes.
We welcome the directives by the High Court to the government on relocation of the tanneries
from Hazaribagh area to Savar in eighteen months' time. We were nothing short of happy when
the Prime Minister had announced quite a while ago her government's decision to relocate the
tannery plants from a densely populated area to a more suitable exclusive zone. But sadly it has
so far remained a declaration of intent only and a mere announcement. The agencies concerned
have made little headway in relocating the tannery industrie.
Big concerns or influential persons (about 80 per cent of the members of the parliament in
Bangladesh are traders ) do not care for environment or existing laws:
Tannery being built defying High Court order
It also asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to shift the industries from
the area within 18 months. The new industry is springing up just opposite to the Shikdar Medical
College inside the embankment in Hazaribagh. Half of the construction is already complete with
the owner dredging out the river and filling up the low land. Nurul Alam is the owner of the new
industry named 'Millat Tannery' and he is well aware of the High Court order.
"I know about the order and the government's relocation procedure. But it will take time. So I am
investing on this. I will also shift my industry when others will shift theirs," Nurul Alam said. He
believes nothing will happen in two to three years, as the government's project regarding
relocation of the tannery industry has not been approved as yet at the Executive Committee of the
National
Economic
Council
meeting
Meanwhile, the water of Buriganga river has become black and mucky due to continuous inflow
of untreated tannery effluents. The tannery units release nearly22,000 cubic metres of untreated
toxic waste everyday to the Buriganga River. According to the local people, the condition of the
river is the worst (Daily Star March 25, 2003).

Toxic
tannery
waste
Factory relocation stuck in red tape

posing

health

risk

Buriganga river posing serious

threat to human health as
relocation of the factories is
caught in bureaucratic tangle.
Reluctance of the owners to
move those flouting High Court
orders is also delaying the
process.
The HC directives, demands of
the civil society and campaigns
by the media have all gone in
vain as the tannery owners and the government have been blaming each other for not taking
action in this regard. In June 2009, the HC expressed frustration over industrial pollution, and
observed that the government has not taken any step to prevent pollution by industries.
The court in its judgement ordered the authorities concerned to complete relocation of the leather
industry to Savar by February 28, 2010. Failing to do so, the government had filed a petition with
the
HC
seeking
two
more
years
for
the
job.
The HC then extended the time till August 28 the same year asking the industries ministry to
submit a report within six months on the actions taken to move those out of the city's residential
areas. But the government again failed to do the job and kept on seeking more time from the
court
every
six
months.
"We're trying our level best. But I'm not sure when they will be relocated," said Mahbubur
Rahman, project director of Savar Leather Estate of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries
Corporation (BSCIC), who is also responsible for implementing the relocation. Asked why they
are taking so much time, he said, "It took nearly one year to complete the technical evaluation of
the central effluent treatment plant (ETP) and submit it to the government.
"But surely, things are progressing. We've recommended four ETPs with five million cubic
metres of toxic waste treatment facilities for 155 industrial units." The relocation process started
nearly 10 years ago following a HC verdict in 2001. The government undertook a project to
develop the leather estate at Harinbari in Savar at the cost of Tk 500 more than five years ago.
The
estate,
however,
remains
unused
and
empty.

Sources say the relocation is being delayed as the government and the tannery owners could not
reach any consensus about compensation and bank loan. Even the project director is unaware
about the compensation and loan issues -- two major demands of the tannery owners.
The polluters who earn around Tk 1,600 crore by exporting leather goods remain adamant
demanding compensation of Tk 1,090 crore from the government along with soft loan and
readymade central ETPs at taxpayers' money. "We're asking Tk 1,090 crore in compensation. But
we haven't heard anything from the government yet," said Shahin Ahmed, president of
Bangladesh
Tanners'
Association.
Now the government proposes for sharing the cost of setting up the central ETPs, which will
require more than Tk 300 crore. "But we signed a memorandum of understanding in 2003 with
the government, and the government agreed to set up ETPs at its cost," said Shahin. He also said
they demand the compensation, as they will have to build new infrastructures and repair
machinery
that
will
be
damaged
during
relocation.
Although the environmental protection laws require the tanners to set up ETPs in their factories,
they
never
did
so
causing
serious
environmental
peril.
The residents of the city's western part continue to suffer from adverse effects of pollution caused
by tanneries in Hazaribagh, Dhanmondi, Basila, Kamrangirchar and surrounding areas. The
dreadful stink of the tanneries can be smelt from miles away in residential areas like Rayerbazar
and
Zigatola.
Hazaribagh tanneries, an export-oriented cluster of industries, produce some 20,000 cubic metres
of toxic waste laden with chromium and at least 30 other toxins every day. The toxic waters flow
into the Buriganga through the Rayerbazar sluice gate. Locals allege they frequently require
treatment for skin diseases, fever, cough, gastroenteritis, asthma and diabetes.
A tanner said the major obstacle to the relocation is that most of the land and property is
mortgaged against bank loans. Until the banks release the mortgaged property, it is impossible to
move their factories (P. Roy, May 28, 2011).
Poisoning Poultry, Fish Tannery Waste In Feed Allowed For A Decade
Women work to sun-dry solid waste, generated from boiling of tanned leather off-cuts and
shaving dust, at Hazaribagh in the capital. The dry waste is ground and supplied to poultry feed
mills or farmers
It's difficult to say exactly when it began. Records suggest the practice of making poultry-fish
feed out of Hazaribagh tannery waste has been going on for over a decade. On December 30,
2003, The Daily Star reported that the feed, produced by crooked traders in the capital's

Hazaribagh, contained chromium, a chemical used in tanning hides. The toxic feed consumed by
fish or poultry enters the food chain and can damage liver and kidney, and cause cancer and other
diseases,
the
report
said.
The then state minister for fisheries and livestock, Ukil Abdus Sattar, told this newspaper he was
unaware of such activities but he would look into it. Other officials concerned also admitted their
ignorance
and
said
they
would
take
action.
Later, more media reports exposed the extent of feed contamination. The High Court on August
8, 2011, directed the government to stop the use of tannery waste in poultry feed as well as fish
meals within 30 days.
Yet the business kept flourishing. About a hundred factories in Hazaribagh now produce feed
daily out of some 75 to 200 tonnes of solid waste that includes salt, bone, leather shavings and
trimmings. Though the Rapid Action Battalion or the Department of Environment conducted one
or
two
drives,
things
have
hardly
changed.
The Department of Livestock Services and the Department of Fisheries are entrusted with
maintaining quality of animal feed. But they did not take effective steps. I was not aware of the
use of tannery waste in fish feed until recently, fisheries department Director General Syed Arif
Azad said, following a report in The Daily Star mid-July this year. He, however, said that in the
last six months, the department tested over 1,200 fish feed samples from across the country and
found
shortage
of
protein
in
some
samples.
The department warned the manufacturers but lodged no criminal cases. All it did was getting the
manufacturers
to
apologise
and
pledge
quality
in
future.
Cases take so long there are also certain procedures, you know, Arif told this newspaper.
The department also did not test heavy metals in the feed. However, Arif said they would do this
now as the reports of animal feed being mixed with tannery-based protein are coming out.
The livestock department, however, filed one case and that is against Amir Multi-protein Ltd in
Hazaribagh in March after a Rab-led drive found the factory was operating illegally. There is no
registered feed mill in Hazaribagh. However, if we have information about anyone
manufacturing contaminated poultry feed, we can take action, said Director General Mozammel
Hoque
Siddiquee
of
the
livestock
department.
Following The Daily Star report on July 15, the Rab led a drive and livestock department
officials
sealed
off
four
illegal
feed
factories
in
Hazaribagh.

After the raid, the livestock department filed a criminal case against three illegal poultry feed
factories.

Moshiur Rahman, president of Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh (FIAB), said they had
notified the government of the alarming practices in 2007 and several times later.
There were one or two drives but it took only some days for the illegal factories to restart. Who
knows whether they bribe police? According to Moshiur, the FIAB members produce around 80
percent of the 30 lakh tonnes of feed a year. The image of the industry is being tarnished for the
unscrupulous
traders
in
Hazaribagh.
On February 10, 2011, the then Department of Environment director Munir Chowdhury seized
toxic feed in a raid and sued the owners. The accused were arrested but they came out easily after
filing an appeal. We had to face threats from some quarters. They seemed very powerful,
Munir
said
when
contacted
recently.
Some workers engaged in boiling and sun-drying the tannery waste said police take Tk 100-200
for each burner used for boiling the solid waste. "Whenever a burner is on, one has to bribe the
cops," said a tannery worker in Hazaribagh during a recent visit by a reporter from this
newspaper.
"There is an association [of feed manufacturers] that pays police on monthly basis. Police
become strict whenever there is a mobile court drive but they loosen the grip later," he said.
Police,
as
usual,
deny
the
allegation.
We have destroyed toxic feed from some factories. We would not have done it if we had taken
bribe from the factories, said Moinul Islam, officer-in-charge of Hazaribagh Police Station,
referring to a July raid in Hazaribagh. Al Amin, executive magistrate of the Rab, who led a
mobile-court drive lately, said, We can conduct raids. But monitoring these factories is basically
the responsibility of livestock and fisheries departments. Without a robust role from them, shady
activities at these factories cannot be uprooted. Published:Daily Star, September 17, 2014
Last Modified: September 17, 2014

Moving The Toxic Tanneries Another Wait Starts

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Research Initiative for Social Equity Society - RISE Society 2
Comments
The pollution level in tanneries at Hazaribagh is rising every day, causing many diseases to
spread around the area. Experts say that if the tanneries are not relocated soon there will be a
medical catastrophe in the region. While deadlines for executing the High Court orders on
relocation of tanneries have already passed several times with the government repeatedly asking
for extension, new questions are rising on a realistic solution for this problem.

Workers live among toxic tannery waste in Hazaribagh Tannery Area

In 2003 the government initiated a project for relocation to Savar Leather Estate in Savar.
During this time two of the countrys main tannery associations agreed with the government that
some 150 member-tanneries in Hazaribagh would relocate to a site outside of the city. The
government agreed to compensate these tanneries for some of the cost and planned to prepare a
relocation site in Savar by 2005, although completion of the site has been delayed numerous
times.
The initial deadline for relocation of the more than 40 year old tanneries from Hazaribagh to
Savar Leather Industrial Estate (SLIE) was June 2004, which was extended to December
2005. After a public interest litigation was lodged, the High Court in June 2009 asked the
government to relocate the tanneries from Dhaka to a proposed leather estate at Savar by
February 28, 2010 or face shutdowns. The government has repeatedly sought more time due to

multifarious reasons which included among others establishment of Central Effluent Treatment
Plant (CETP), 2.50 billion BDT compensation for tanners and fund constraints. Last year the
government announced a plan to relocate the tanneries by December 2014, upon the failure to
meet this deadline, now the Industry Ministry now that the relocation would be implemented by
June 2016 as the project has recently been revised by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage
Industries Corporation (BSCIC) at a cost of 10.78 billion BDT.
Hazaribaghs 220 tanneries discharge some 21,600 cubic meters of liquid waste and 88 tonnes of
solid waste per day, posing a serious threat to the livelihood of some 100,000 people and
prompting observers to deem it to be on the brink of an environmental disaster (Department of
Environment, Bangladesh).
International rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) repeatedly urged leather buyers not to
purchase leather goods from tanneries at Hazaribagh in Bangladesh, as they do not abide by
health and environmental laws. On 11 March 2012, the Environment Ministry signed a contract
with a Chinese joint venture called JLEPCL and DCL to construct an effluent treatment plant
within 15 months, but those 15 months have come and gone and no effluent treatment plant is yet
installed. Regarding the delay of setting up the CETP at the leather zone, Bangladesh Small and
Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said they would
approve the design by next two days which was a major concern of the contractor company
JLEPCL-DCL Recently the Industry Ministry asked JLEPCL-DCL to resume construction of the
central effluent treatment plant in a week, or otherwise warned the company with punitive
action if it delays work.
According to BSCIC officials, the cost of setting up CETP was only 0.84 billion BDT in 2004
which is now increased to more than 6 billion BDT. BSCIC chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder told
The Independent that they had already completed the major infrastructural work and allocated
205 industrial plots to 155 tanneries in the 200-acre leather park at Savar.
Not only that, all necessary infrastructures such as roads, water treatment plants, gas and
sewerage line, electricity substation plant except the central effluent treatment plant (CETP)
have almost all been set up at the leather park.
The tannery owners however are yet to lay down the foundation for their factories, blaming the
holdup on the failure to reach a consensus with the government regarding compensation and
bank loans. The tannery owners demanded a compensation of 10.9 billion BDT, a readymade
CETP and soft loans. In October 2013, an MoU was signed between BSCIC, Bangladesh
Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather-goods and Footwear
Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) in this regard. As per the agreement, the government will
offer a compensation package worth 2.5 billion BDT to 155 factories and assign 6.39 billion
BDT for the installation of the CETP a must for red-category factories discharging toxic
chemicals.
Establishment of infrastructures at the 200-acre tannery estate on the bank of river Dhaleshwari
at Harindhara village of Tetuljhora in Savar is nearly complete (the Savar Leather Industrial

Estate). The plots have been prepared while the construction of roads, BSCIC Bhaban, police
outpost, CETP and a power plant are now underway.
According to the Industry Ministry, the process of relocating the tanneries from Hazaribagh to
Savar is ongoing, claiming the transfer process will be completed by 2016. Industries minister,
Amir Hossain Amu told local news agencies that the relocation is assigned as top priority in
order to protect the sector, and he urged the industrialists to immediately begin the process of
relocation. However, industrialists believe the 2016 deadline set by the government is too
ambitious, stating that the infrastructure required for the relocation is not yet in place.
While relocating is a matter of urgency for securing 160,000 peoples health who live
surrounding the Hazaribagh area, reviewing the working conditions and social condition of the
workers should also be an area to look into when or if the transfer is eventually done
successfully.
On the issue of worker rights in the Hazaribagh tannery area, RISE spoke with trade unionist Mr.
Abdul Malek the General Secretary of Tannery Workers Union (TWU) who is also the
Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre (BTUC), Executive President of
Bangladesh Leather and Leather Goods Industry Workers Federation, Member of National
Council of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB).
Regarding transparency between buyers and workers, Mr. Malek said that Tannery owners keep
their buyers a secret, plus our sector is just too fluid to understand who is the actual owner of the
contract which is being executed in a Tannery, and who the actual buyer is, as sometimes the
buyer we see is only an agent or even freelancing buyers with contacts abroad.
About Trade Unionization in the Tannery Industry, Mr. Malek explains: We are a single union
with members in Tanneries across the various factories of this Industry. We usually come into
mutual understanding with the factory owner in case of an accident or compensation, and usually
we are successful in such negotiations. We seldom visit the Labor Court. However, dont see any
possibility of the buyers taking their share of responsibility in times of a major crisis as we do
not know who they are. On social conditions at workplace, Mr. Malek further informs, there
are child workers, toxic working conditions, physical and verbal abuse, and a lot of pollution.
There is no effluent treatment plant (ETP) or Chrome plant in Hazaribagh, there was one such
Chrome filter plant in Dhaka Tannery but it is not working anymore. There is no ETP in Apex
Tannery, or at least it does not work. Tanneries here are supposed to move to their new areas,
however that is not happening yet.
RISE Society
http://risebd.com/2014/03/06/moving-the-toxic-tanneries-another-wait-starts/
Italy: Leather Buyers Beware
Human Rights Watch - Wed, 3 Apr 2013 03:40 GMT
Author: Human Rights Watch

http://www.trust.org/item/?map=italy-leather-buyers-beware
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters
Foundation.
(Barcelona) - Leather buyers at an international leather fair in Italy should only purchase leather
goods from tanneries that comply with laws that protect the right to health and labor rights,
Human Rights Watch said today as the fair opens in Bologna. Such compliance should include
respecting both national and international environmental standards. Tanneries in the Hazaribagh
area of the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, do not meet these criteria, Human Rights Watch said.
Over 1,000 exhibitors from more than 40 countries will show new leather products at the
Lineapelle leather fair, from April 3 to April 5, 2013, in Bologna. Among the exhibitors are Bay
Tanneries and Bengal Leather Complex Ltd., both of whose tanneries are in Hazaribagh. Despite
requirements for wastewater treatment under both Bangladeshi labor and environmental law,
there is no common effluent treatment plant for tanneries in Hazaribagh to treat industrial
wastewater, nor do any of the tanneries there have their own treatment plants.
"Leather tanneries in the heart of Dhaka have been releasing toxic effluent into a densely
populated neighborhood for decades," said Richard Pearshouse, senior health and human rights
researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Foreign buyers at the Lineapelle fair shouldn't buy products
from companies that don't abide by labor and environmental laws meant to protect people."
In October 2012 Human Rights Watch released the 101-page report, "Toxic Tanneries: The
Health Repercussions of Hazaribagh Leather," which documented health problems among
local residents of Hazaribagh slums. The residents complained of illnesses such as fevers, skin
diseases, respiratory problems, and diarrhea caused by the extreme tannery pollution of air,
water, and soil. The report, based on nine weeks of in-country research, also documented an
occupational health and safety crisis among tannery workers, both men and women, including
skin diseases and respiratory illnesses caused by exposure to tanning chemicals, and limb
amputations caused by accidents in dangerous tannery machinery.
The report described how wastewater that pours off tannery floors and into Hazaribagh's open
gutters flows into Dhaka's main river, and contains, among other substances, animal flesh,
sulfuric acid, chromium, and lead. The government has estimated that about 21 thousand cubic
meters of untreated tannery effluent is released each day in Hazaribagh. Pollutant levels in the
wastewater frequently surpass Bangladesh's permitted limits for tannery effluent, in some cases
by many thousands of times the permitted concentrations.
Tanneries operating in Hazaribagh have been the focus of reports, studies, surveys, and even
government findings dating to the 1990s that have documented a range of human rights abuses
and problematic conditions in and around Hazaribagh tanneries. These include unregulated
industrial pollution of air, water, and soil; illness among local residents; perilous working
conditions; and labor by girls and boys - often in hazardous conditions and for menial pay.
Current employees from both Bay Tanneries and Bengal Leather Complex Ltd. confirmed to
Human Rights Watch that their tanneries do not have plants to treat tannery wastewater. After

many years of not enforcing any environmental regulations in Hazaribagh, the Department of
Environment fined Bay Tanneries and one other Hazaribagh tannery - not Bengal Leather
Complex Ltd. - in February for not having effluent treatment plants.
Human Rights Watch wrote to both Bay Tanneries and Bengal Leather Complex Ltd in February
to request further information on occupational health and environmental protection measures. In
its reply Bay Tanneries stated that the tannery does not have an effluent treatment plant because
the company is waiting for the government to build a common effluent treatment plant at the
designated relocation site for Hazaribagh tanneries, in Savar, 20 kilometers to the west. Bengal
Leather Complex Ltd has not replied.
In 2003 the country's two main tannery associations agreed with the government that some 150
member-tanneries in Hazaribagh would relocate to a site outside of the city, and the Bangladeshi
government agreed to compensate these tanneries for some of the costs. The government planned
to prepare a relocation site in Savar by 2005, but completion of the site has been delayed
numerous times. In June 2012 officials in the two associations of tannery owners told Human
Rights Watch they were negotiating compensation from the government for relocation to Savar
considerably in excess of the amount previously agreed upon.
"Regulations on industrial wastewater are designed to protect and uphold public health,"
Pearshouse said. "What's been ignored in the protracted negotiations over relocation is how the
health of local residents in Hazaribagh suffers tremendously from the current situation."
Human Rights Watch repeatedly contacted the organizers of the Lineapelle leather fair between
January and March to inquire whether they had conducted any reviews to ensure that prospective
exhibitors that operate in Bangladesh comply with international standards and Bangladeshi
environmental and labor laws. Human Rights Watch encouraged the organizers to promote
reform of the Hazaribagh tanneries and avoid being linked to abuses. Lineapelle has not
responded.
"Hazaribagh is one of the most polluted urban environments in the world," Pearshouse said. "The
Bangladesh government should see that regulating Hazaribagh leather and addressing the
ongoing health crisis among Hazaribagh's residents and tannery workers is essential to protecting
the economic benefits of this industry."
It is a generally accepted principle that companies have a responsibility to identify any human
rights risks from their activities, including through their supply chain, and to mitigate those risks.
That principle was recognized by the international community in June 2011 when the United
Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Human Rights Watch believes that leather purchasers have a responsibility to make sure that
Bangladesh tanneries they buy from comply with national and international environmental norms
since purchasing from noncompliant tanneries would invariably exacerbate the harm caused by
the tanneries' operations.
"The international leather industry has a responsibility to identify and mitigate human rights
risks," Pearshouse said. "Avoiding polluting tanneries in Bangladesh is an important first step."

Hazaribagh
Background
Hazaribagh is home to 90 to 95 percent of Bangladesh tanneries. Leather exports from
Bangladesh for 2012-2013 are on track to grow by 11 percent, while exports of leather products
such as shoes, belts, and bags are on track to grow by 85 percent. For the previous year, from
June 2011 to July 2012, Bangladesh exported ${esc.dollar}81 million worth of leather and
leather goods including footwear to Italy, ${esc.dollar}52 million to Germany, and $
{esc.dollar}22 million to Spain. Over the past decade, leather exports from Bangladesh have
grown by an average of ${esc.dollar}41 million each year.
Since 2001 the government has ignored a ruling from the High Court Division of the Bangladesh
Supreme Court ordering the government to ensure that the Hazaribagh tanneries install adequate
waste treatment systems. The High Court ruled in 2009 that the government should ensure that
the Hazaribagh tanneries relocate outside of Dhaka or close them down. The government and the
tannery associations were granted a number of extensions, and then ignored the order when those
extensions lapsed.
Bangladeshi governments have contemplated relocating the Hazaribagh tanneries for almost two
decades. The government's most recent deadline is for tanneries to move there by the end of
2013. But given the long history of bureaucratic delays, some people familiar with the leather
industry believe that relocation is unlikely before 2015, while others suggested it might only
happen in 2017. As of March, no tannery had begun building new facilities at the Savar site.
Editorial
Tannery relocation making headway
Need for acceleration strongly felt
WE note with a degree of optimism that the overall process of relocating 155 tanneries from
Hazaribagh, where these were polluting the environment severely, to Savar, is moving ahead. At
long last, the 11-year gridlock on the crucial agenda shows a sign of breaking. Some physical
progress has been reported from the relocation site. Clearly, there is a palpable need to fast-track
overall project implementation as the deadline of completion by June, 2015 is close at hand.
The statistics speak loud and clear about the tasks ahead. Of the 155 factories listed for transfer
to Savar, 141 are under construction, of which again only 33 are making any satisfactory
progress. One central concern is being addressed in earnestnamely 50 percent of the work to
set up the CTP has been completed. That more than 20 factories are complete non-starters is a
dampener.
Thanks to the hammering of the industries minister the undertaking has gathered some
momentum. Things like allocation of plots at Savar and payment of compensation are falling in
place. Close monitoring in tandem with fail-safe coordination needs to be ensured at all costs.
What all concerned will have to bear in mind is that the European Union had given advance
warning that unless environment-friendly production regime is followed, they would stop buying
leather or leather goods from Bangladesh. Already, South Korea and a few other countries have

scaled down their imports of such items from us. We have to step up compliance if we are not to
lose the market for some of our major exportables.
Published: 12:00 am Saturday, December 20, 2014
Tannery relocation looks uncertain, costs to environment mount
Refayet Ullah Mirdha
The relocation of tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh has run into a dead-end due to friction
between the industries ministry and Bangladesh Tannery Association (BTA), putting the
environment
and
human
lives
in
danger.
The tanners have already ruined Buriganga river, the heart of Dhaka. Now, they will do the
same to other rivers like Dhaleswari and Shitalakkhya, said Abdul Matin, general secretary of
Bangladesh
Poribesh
Andolon,
a
platform
of
green
activists.
For many years now, the level of oxygen in the waters of Buriganga has been zero, and the
ecosystem of Hazaribagh and its adjacent areas is completely damaged, Matin said.
The relocation of tanneries has become a must. Otherwise, we will not be able to save Dhaka
city, he said, adding that setting up effluent treatment plant (ETP) at Hazaribagh is not viable.
Industries Minister Dilip Barua said the relocation is being held-up by BTAs delay in signing the
agreement for bearing the costs of setting up a central ETP (CETP) at the Savar leather estate.
But, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2007 between the two
parties, the CETP was supposed to be constructed by the government, with the tanners paying
back
in
instalments
spread
across
15
years.
The entrepreneurs are now showing no interest in signing the loan agreement with the ministry
for
the
construction
of
CETP.
Without the signed agreement, the ministry is unable to get the final approval from the Executive
Committee of National Economic Council to get the project started, Barua said.
We have already awarded the tender for the CETP to the Chinese contractor JLEPCL-DCL JV,
but
without
the
green
light
from
ECNEC,
they
cannot
start
work.
The delay is not only affecting the natural environment and human lives, but also threatening the
countrys
leather
and
leather
goods
industry,
the
minister
said.
The European Union, the leading destination of the countrys leather exports, has already
threatened to stop buying products from Bangladesh beyond 2014 if the CETP is not established
in
the
industrial
zone
by
then.
So, we will lose nearly one billion dollar of leather, leather goods and footwear exports a year
for
this
delay,
Barua
said.
But, Shamsul Huda, president of BTA, is claiming quite the opposite.
As per a MoU signed in 2003, the government was supposed to bear the costs of CETP and pay
Tk 250 crore as compensation to the tanners for relocation, Huda said.
The amount has compounded manifold by now. Still, it is our demand that the government pays
us the compensation, so that we can shift our factories to Savar without further delay.

He said the tanners demanded the amount for construction of new buildings and moving
machinery
from
Hazaribagh.
Nevertheless, the delay is only mounting the cost of the project. The project took off in 2003, to
be completed in 2005 with an approximate cost of Tk 175.75 crore.
Let alone being completed in 2005, the project was rescheduled thrice.
The costs now stand at Tk 827.99 crore, and the leather park is said to be ready by 2014, as per
Abu
Taher,
director
of
the
project.
Six project directors were transferred since the commencement of the project and I am the
seventh one, said Taher, also a director of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries
Corporation.
The project cost has been also been increasing because of incorporation of new components, he
added.
The government is now planning to add sludge treatment plant, sludge power generation plant
and
solid
waste
management
plant
with
the
CETP.
The industries ministry has already allocated more than 205 plots on 200 acres of land to 156
entrepreneurs through Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, a wing of the
ministry.
http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/tannery-relocation-looks-uncertain-costs-toenvironment-mount/
Published: Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Need to collect more information:
https://www.google.co.th/?
gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=HmjyVP6APcWTuASXoYDgCg#q=Richard+pearshous+and+Bangladesh+T
annery+industry+report

The extremely unhealthy life of the Bangladesh tannery worker

Industry is riddled with health hazards, child labor and unscrupulous bosses

Workers toss hides into a metal drum for treatment in a tannery in the Hazaribagh district of
Dhaka.
ucanews.com reporters, Dhaka
Bangladesh
March 5, 2014
Mohammed Belal is slight of build and speaks in a soft, halting voice.
Now 30, he has worked in leather tanneries since he was 10 years old. Hes also suffered from
gastric problems and headaches for the last nine years.
Every month I am ill, he said. Any time I can get sick because this environment is so bad, but
I dont have any other employment options."
Belals job is to soak and treat animal hides with over 100 chemicals. His basic pay is about
US$103 per month and he can earn an additional $26 per month with overtime but he spends as
much as a quarter of his salary on medicine and healthcare.
His employer provides no additional medical benefits, despite the fact that tannery workers
frequently fall ill due to hazardous working conditions.
The owners of the tanneries, indeed, should provide either health care or [a] health care
stipend, said Philip Gain, director of the Society for Environment and Human Development
(SEHD). Those who work at the tanneries take high health risks.
According to an SEHD survey, 58 percent of tannery workers suffer from gastritis or ulcers, 31
percent suffer from skin diseases, and 10.6 percent suffer from rheumatic fever all of which are
far higher percentages compared to Bangladeshs general population.

There's a slow-burning health crisis among tannery workers, said Richard Pearshouse, a senior
researcher in the health and human rights division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). They work
in entirely unregulated tanneries with little or no protective equipment.
Workers suffer from chronic skin diseases, respiratory illnesses and gastric problems caused by
direct exposure to a variety of tanning chemicals, said Pearshouse. Though they work directly
with carcinogens, no one is monitoring for occupational cancers.
Most of the workers have one of those diseases, said Abdul Maleque, general secretary of the
Tannery Workers Union. Personally I had dysentery, skin disease and respiratory problems
when I worked in the tanneries.
He added: Because it is such a hazardous industry, many countries have stopped raw hide
processing and depend on countries like us for it."
Bangladesh exported $450 million in crushed and finished leather and $470 million in leather
goods in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, according to Mohammed Shaheen Ahmed, chairman of the
Bangladesh Tanners Association. The associations export target for the 2013-14 fiscal year is
$1.2 billion.
The majority of Bangladeshs leather exports within Asia are sent to South Korea, Hong Kong
and China. In Europe, leather is primarily exported to Italy, Spain and Portugal where it is used
to make products for brands including Michael Kors, Coach, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Hugo
Boss, said Ahmed.
In the future, he said, the Bangladesh leather industry will be booming.
But critics have questioned whether profits alone are enough to justify the myriad negative
impacts of the industry.
There has never been any cost-benefit analysis, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of
the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association. The amount of revenue they claim to
bring in for the country is nothing compared to the environmental loss, [the] health cost they are
inflicting and the bank loans that they have taken."
Its a money game basically and no elected government wants to upset the business
community, she said.
As a result, the government only shows concern on paper, and does not take any
legitimate action to improve worker conditions or reduce environmental harm, she said.
The working conditions, health hazards and salary are inhuman and unconscionable, she
said. "Its a lack of knowledge for the laborers, full awareness on behalf of the tannery owners
and full awareness by the buyers."
Estimates of the number of laborers working in tanneries vary from 5,000 to 30,000, and an
accurate figure is hard to come by given the informal nature of employment.
[Workers] know it is dangerous, it is poisonous, but they have no second option, said Abul
Kalam Azad, president of the Tannery Workers Union. They dont care about their health
because they need money.

Many start working in tanneries when they are very young, so they are afraid to look for jobs in
other industries because they lack education or other skills, Azad added.
Leather is a very important sector for Bangladesh in terms of employment, the economy and
export growth, said Shyam Sunder Sikder, chairman of the Bangladesh Small & Cottage
Industries Corporation within the Ministry of Industries.
Of course something should have been done about worker conditions and the human rights
situation, said Sikder.
Buyers are especially concerned about compliance with health, safety and environmental
regulations, he added.
Sikder said more would be done to regulate tanneries and worker safety after the industry is
shifted from the Hazaribagh area of Dhaka to Savar, a move that thus far has been dogged by
indefinite delays.

A young tannery worker removes leather from a drying rack in Dhaka.

Child workers
The tannery industry has also been plagued by accusations of child labor.
But Ahmed is quick to discredit these accusations, including a 2012 HRW report that
documented evidence of child workers employed by tanneries.
Underage people cannot work in tanneries, said Ahmed, who was adamant that there are no
children currently working in the industry.
However, in the span of a few hours ucanews.com spoke with and photographed numerous
underage workers, some as young as age 10, in the Hazaribagh tannery district.
Tanzim (whose name has been changed to protect his identity), 13, said he has been working in
tanneries for three years.

Tanzim works 10-hour days and earns $39 per month in basic wages but can take home as much
as $52 per month including overtime pay.
My elder brother brought me here, he said. I was given safety equipment like gloves and a
mask, but I usually dont use them.
One of Tanzims jobs is to crawl through a tiny door into an enclosed metal drum to retrieve
hides after they have been treated. He estimated that he is inside the drum for about an hour each
time.
I use the mask when I go to work in the big drum where the hides are treated because there are
so many chemicals inside and I might faint, he said, adding that there are eight other child
laborers working in the same tannery.
For some tannery managers, the children represent a cheaper source of labor, said Pearshouse.
Bangladesh ratified the International Labour Organizations Convention 182 on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor in 2001.
Despite the prohibition on children working in hazardous work, some children work in direct
contact with chemicals, handling hides in pits full of chemicals and water, said Pearshouse.
There are also quite a few children working in facilities that use by-products [including]
trimmed leather, said Gain. Child labor should be brought to zero in the tannery industry.
Despite his positive outlook, Ahmed admits that Bangladeshs leather industry still needs a lot
of work to achieve across-the-board compliance.
Whenever we place demands to the owners on behalf of the workers, we always emphasize
health and occupational safety issues. But it is the owners who should implement them.
Sometimes, they take [the demands] seriously and sometimes they ignore them, said Azad.
Owners in every industry put profit before workers rights and dont want to pay heed to
workers' cries.
Toxic tanneries drive Bangladesh leather exports: report
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/us-bangladesh-tanneries-idUSBRE89816C20121009
(Reuters) - Luxury leather goods sold across the world are produced in a slum area of
Bangladesh's capital where workers, including children, are exposed to hazardous chemicals and
often injured in horrific accidents, according to a study released on Tuesday.
None of the tanneries packed cheek by jowl into Dhaka's Hazaribagh neighborhood treat their
waste water, which contains animal flesh, sulphuric acid, chromium and lead, leaving it to spew
into open gutters and eventually the city's main river.
"Hazaribagh's tanneries flood the environment with harmful chemicals," said Richard
Pearshouse, author of the Human Rights Watch report. "While the government takes a hands-off
approach, local residents fall sick and workers suffer daily from their exposure to harmful
tannery chemicals."

Pearshouse told Reuters ahead of the release of the study that at least 90 percent of the leather
and leather goods produced in Bangladesh come from Hazaribagh, a foul-smelling area where up
to 15,000 people are employed in tanneries.
It is a rapidly growing source of export income for the poor South Asian country, worth $663
million in financial 2011/12, with China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and the
United States the main buyers.
"Foreign companies that import leather produced in Hazaribagh should ensure that their
suppliers aren't violating health and safety laws or poisoning the environment," he said.
Bangladesh's industry minister, Dilip Baura, told Reuters the government was aware of the
pollution and health hazards in Hazaribagh, but they will be tackled under a plan to relocate the
tanneries to an area outside Dhaka by mid-2013.
Human Rights Watch said the move to a dedicated site outside the capital was originally planned
for 2005, but the deadline was missed due to bureaucratic delays. Also, the government sought
extensions to a 2009 High Court order to relocate the tanneries outside Dhaka and then ignored
the order when the extension lapsed, it said.
"Hazaribagh is a glaring example of how indifferent governments can be towards citizens," said
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
"We raised the issue several times with the authorities, made protests against the deplorable
conditions out there but no government took any positive steps to address them. Relocation of
the tanneries is on the cards, but the government is delaying it, apparently to appease tannery
owners and ensure them maximum benefits," she told Reuters.
Pearshouse, who conducted 134 interviews during five months of research in Dhaka, said the air
and soil were "incredibly contaminated" in Hazaribagh. He saw residents of the slum bathing in
ponds that were black with pollution.
He also found that children, some as young as 11, were employed by tanneries for around 1,000
taka ($12.30) a month. They were engaged in hazardous work, such as soaking hides in
chemicals, cutting tanned hides with razor blades and operating dangerous machinery.
Bangladesh exports both raw leather and finished leather products, mostly footwear, including
high-end fashion shoes.
(Writing by John Chalmers; Additional reporting by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Ron Popeski)

On Tuesday's America Tonight, Al Jazeeras Rob Reynolds reported from Bangladesh on what
happens when authorities make no attempt to enforce laws designed to protect the
environment and people. Watch an excerpt from his report.
It's no secret that Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries and that its laborers earn
some of the lowest wages. Its garment factories dangerous working conditions have been welldocumented. But there's another industry in the country that is even more threatening to workers
health and the environment: tanneries that produce leather for clothes, shoes, handbags, jackets,
belts and luggage sold around the world.
Tanneries are an important industry for the destitute country, accounting for more than an
estimated $600 million in exports each year. About 90 percent of it is produced in Hazaribagh, an
area in the capital of Dhaka that just last month was rated among the five worst toxic threats in
the worldby the Blacksmith Institute.
The chemicals used in the tanning process can cause cancers of the lungs, nose and bladder,
according Dr. Khalilur Rahman, a radiologist at Dhaka University.
And while the cheap Bangladeshi labor lowers the cost of leather goods sold in wealthy countries
like the U.S., Japan, Spain, China, South Korea, Italy and Germany, there is a price paid in the
human misery of Hazaribagh.
"This is a product that is used worldwide for luxury goods, but for these workers who are making
them, neither the owners nor the government are looking after our health and safety," Abdul
Malek, head of the Tannery Workers Union, said through a translator.
A Human Rights Watch investigation last year found no attempt by authorities to crack down on
polluting tanneries, calling Hazaribagh "an enforcement-free zone."
"This is because the government wants only to buy the argument of earning foreign export, said
Syeda Rizwana Hasan of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association. So I would say
this is a case of total absence of governance."
For years, the Bangladeshi government has promised to move the tanneries out of the densely
populated slums of Hazaribagh into modern facilities. But so far all those promises have
remained unfulfilled.
Its latest plan calls for relocating the tanneries by the end of next year. Government officials did
not respond to Al Jazeera's repeated requests for an interview.
But the toxic threat of the tanneries isnt just limited to the workers. About 22,000 cubic meters
of environmentally hazardous liquid waste is emitted from them every day, flowing into the
Buriganga River, Dhaka's main water way.
Scientists say the Buriganga is a dead zone, and there have been no in-depth health studies done
on the people living in Hazaribagh who use it as a water source.
"If you come to the Hazaribagh tanneries and have a look at the tannery area, that should tell you
perhaps how hell looks like," Hasan said.

When will it end? Reviewing the Dhaka tannery impasse

2 September 2013
http://www.leathermag.com/features/featurewhen-will-it-end-reviewing-the-dhakar-tanneryimpasse/
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On August 13 a revised proposal for the relocation of Dhakas tanneries responsible for mass
pollution and severe health problems amongst workers and the local populace was placed
before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council. It is the latest development in
a ten-year standoff between tanneries and Bangladeshi authorities. Jack Wittels traces the
history of the conflict and reviews the governments new policy proposal
This time last year former LEATHER International editor, Martin Ricker, called for the
Bangladeshi government to take action over the appalling pollution caused by tanneries in the
Hazaribagh district of Dhaka, the nation's capital.
"What is going on in the Hazaribagh district of Bangladesh is shameful," he said. "It is time that
the authorities in Dhaka stood up to the tanners and told them to move or close."
Ricker was rightly outraged at the scale of pollution produced by the 150+ tanneries operating in
the district at that time. The following month, a report was published by Human Rights Watch
describing how effluent containing a number of harmful chemicals ran directly from the tannery
floors into open gutters, where it flowed through some of the district's slums before emptying
into the city's main river, the Buriganga. Air pollution and solid wastes were also being produced
en masse.
The ongoing failure of government officials and tanning industry representatives to reach an
agreement on how much the industry would be compensated for relocation was another source of
great frustration. The planned move to a site in Savar, some 20km west of Hazaribagh and safely
outside the capital, had been announced by then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia as far back as July
2002. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing to the move had also been signed in
2003 by both the government and tanning associations, yet no progress had been made.
Twelve months on and Hazaribagh's tanneries are still as bad as ever, operating with the same
flagrant disregard for human health, safety and environmental responsibility. Human Rights
Watch estimates that 75 metric tonnes of solid waste, primarily consisting of salts and bones
along with leather shavings and trimmings, are daily produced by the tanneries. This is in
addition to 21,600 cubic metres of "environmentally hazardous" liquid waste containing harmful
chemicals including ammonium, sulphur and chromium. A 2007 study by the Blacksmith
Institute also included the district in a list of 30 of the world's most polluted places.
The impact of these inexcusable conditions stretches far beyond the tanneries' immediate
workforce. Studies from as far back as 1997 indicate that skin and kidney diseases, as well as

jaundice, diarrhoea and fever, are more common amongst Hazaribagh inhabitants than other
areas of Dhaka with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Children as young as eleven have
become ill through exposure to hazardous chemicals. Minors have also been injured whilst
working in the tanneries, performing hazardous tasks such as cutting tanned hides with
razorblades, soaking hides in chemicals and operating dangerous machinery.
On August 13 of this year, a second revised proposal for the tanneries relocation was placed
before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) - the same body that
endorsed the original proposal in 2003, and the first 2007 revision. The latest document offers a
new relocation deadline of June 2016 at a total cost of TK1078.71 crore (approx 89 million).
The government has agreed to pay 80%, with the factory owners paying the remaining 20% in
instalments over 15 years.
This figure is more than six times the original total cost of TK175.75 crore that was estimated for
the move back in 2003. The price hike is largely due to the Bangladeshi government agreeing to
compensate tanners TK250 crore for the relocation process, as well as paying a further TK477.46
crore for Chinese joint venture JLEPCL-DCL to provide a Central Effluent Treatment Plant
(CETP) in Savar.
Yet even with such generous state funding, there is still a strong possibility the relocation will
suffer further delays. The tanners are refusing to make the move until the ECNEC adjust certain
conditions of the MoU, which the tanners have yet to sign. The tanners' chief points of concern
are an increase in relocation fees for factory owners, and a government failure to demarcate land
for workers' dormitories in Savar.
"As per the proposal, we [the owners] have to pay Tk376.15 per square feet now for the allotted
plots ranging from 10,000 to 32,0000 sq ft in Savar. Earlier, the fee was fixed at Tk197 per sq ft",
said Belal Hossain, chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear
Exporters' Association has observed.
"This is not acceptable as the higher charges will increase our relocation costs significantly", he
added.
While the tanners' objections may sound pedantic in the context of widespread human suffering
perpetrated by their factories, national authorities are seemingly powerless to force compliance.
Ten years of negotiations have resulted in little more than missed deadlines and spiralling costs.
More worrying still, there is a suggestion that such inefficiency is not entirely the result of
merely incompetent politicians. In 2012, a senior member of Dhaka's Department of
Environment admitted that: "We are not doing anything for Hazaribagh. The tannery owners are
very rich and politically powerful."
These words perhaps hint at the real reason behind the government's failure to relocate the
tanning industry.
Despite these grim sentiments, however, there is still hope for the residents of Hazaribagh. The
European Union, the leading purchaser of Bangladeshi leather exports, has threatened to boycott
the country's products as of 2014 if the CETP is not completed - a strong incentive for a nation so

dependent on the industry. Other optimists have pointed to China; its tanning sector was once
known for its lack of environmental controls, but the country is cleaning up its act and many of
its factories are now world leaders in worker safety and environmental control.
The Bangladeshi planning ministry's latest proposal was reportedly inspired by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina's heavy criticism of the long delays in implementing the scheme. Let us hope that
this PM and her government has the tenacity and ability to succeed where previous politicians
have failed the people of Hazaribagh.