Air Quality

Industrial Waste

There are 1,176 industrial units in the country that heavily pollute the environment. The concerned authorities have identified these industrial units and legal procedures have been initiated against them. This was told in the Jatio Sangshad, the Bangladesh legislature, in July 2001. At the same time, a division bench of the High Court asked the concerned department to ensure pollution control measures in 903 industrial units that have been identified as polluters. The order was served in July 2001. A long time has passed since these initiatives were taken. However, the scenario of industrial pollution has not improved. Rather, there are more reports in the national dailies on increased industrial pollution. People from all walks of life in different places of the country narrated their sufferings due to industrial pollution.

Dateline: Chittagong
The metalled highway from Dhaka to Chittagong, in the southeast region, passes by the hills of Sitakunda on the left. The Sandwip Channel is on the right. The view is exceptionally beautiful. But all is not beautiful and life has turned miserable for the residents of Sitakunda area in Chittagong due to industrial pollution. Black fumes, dust etc., from industrial units in Sitakunda have made life difficult. There are more than a hundred industrial units in the area. These include vegetable oil mills, steel re-rolling mills, cement packaging factories, etc. Moreover, there are scores of ship breaking yards.

The situation is also bad in the port-city itself. Within the city there are hundreds of industrial plants, big, medium and small in size, including cement-packaging factories, washing plants, aluminium factories, soap factories, poultry farms, steel re-rolling mills, tanneries, fish processing plants etc. These industrial units, without any waste treatment facilities, are polluting the environment. There are more than a hundred industrial units along the river Karnafuli that flows to the Bay of Bengal. Industrial wastes are being dumped into the Karnafuli degrading the water quality and making the aquatic life vulnerable. The situation is similar in Sagarika industrial area and Nasirabad area. The people of different areas including Sitakunda, Nasirabad, Bhatiari, Mariam Bibir Hat, Sabon Ghata mentioned problems including waste, diseases, noise, dust, smoke etc. coming out of the industrial units.

Dateline: Tongi
Industries and factories at Tongi near Dhaka regularly dump solid waste and effluent in the nearby River Turag, polluting the water. Colour of water of the Turag is dark and has a strong odour. The number of factories polluting Turag is at least 20. The industrial units include textile mills, dyeing mills, pharmaceutical plants etc.

Dateline: Narayanganj
Many industrial units are increasingly polluting Narayanganj, the industrial and river-port town near the capital city. People there feel that the condition in and around the town is gradually becoming intolerable. Other than the town, there are industrial units at Fatulla, Panchabatee, Kachpur, Rupashi, Tarabo, Hotabo, Sonargaon, Araihazar, Rupganj and Gopaldee. Moreover, there are industrial units along the Dhaka- Chittagong highway. The industrial units include dyeing/printing factories, edible oil factories, paper and pulp mills, chemical industries, jute mills, textile mills, soap factories etc.

Many of the industrial units drain out effluents directly into the river Shitalakkhya. Others drain out effluents into nearby crop fields, irrigation canals and water bodies. Water in the irrigation canals of the DND (Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra) and the Narayanganj- Narsingdi Agrani Irrigation Projects have become polluted. Solid wastes from the industrial units are dumped into adjacent areas including roadside ditches, drains, and crop fields, even adjacent to residential areas making lives of people horrible and crop cultivation impossible.

Dateline: Shayampur
Shayampur, located a few miles south of Dhaka city, lies on the bank of the Buriganga. There are scores of industrial units in Shayampur. The industrial units include textile mills, steel re-rolling mills, plastic and rubber industries, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries, dyeing and printing industries. All these industrial units discharge effluents into the Buriganga. None of these industrial units have installed waste treatment plants. It was alleged by many local people that many of the industries were set up in violation of rules and regulations. It is not only solid wastes and effluents that make life miserable, a number of mills also create high level of noise pollution. Workers in many of the industries suffer from noise and other types of pollution. Many people living in the area suffer from diseases including skin disease that they relate to the wastes and the polluted water of the Buriganga.

Industrial Waste : Tanneries

About 90 percent of Hazaribag tannery workers die before they reach the age of 50 due to unhygienic working-environment. About 58.10 percent of workers suffer from ulcer, 31.28 percent have skin diseases, 16.76 percent suffer from malnutrition, 11.73 percent have high blood pressure and 10.61 percent suffer from rheumatic fever. This was revealed in a study conducted by the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), a Dhaka-based nongovernmental organization.

The survey was conducted on the health of 179 tannery workers from six tanneries at Hazaribag in the southwest corner of the capital city. It was found in the survey that 34.63 percent of the surveyed tannery workers occasionally suffer from fever, 22.90 percent from cough and 18.99 percent from jaundice. The tannery workers complained of suffering from dizziness, headache, weakness and eye problems. 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.

It should be mentioned that there are 270 registered tanneries in Bangladesh and 90 percent of these are located at Hazaribag on about 25 hectares of land. Most of these are non or semi-mechanized units and these tanneries use old processing methods. During the peak period about 15,000 labourers work daily in these tanneries. The number goes down to 8,000- 12,000 during lean period. About 100,000 persons are directly or indirectly involved with these tanneries. It was found in the study that most of the tannery workers are not aware of precautionary and safety measures at work. It was also found that only 30 percent of the workers wear shoes at work-place, only 3 percent wear aprons, only 3 percent wear masks and only 12 percent wear gloves. Moreover, the workers wash their hands and feet with plain water. The study found that about 894 workers per thousand suffer from diseases while the national level ratio was 150.85 per thousand.

The environmental status of Hazaribag tanneries is an old and much-talked about "story". Hazards and sufferings of the people living in and around the area, other problems and steps that ought to be taken are widely reported in the national dailies. Not only are the workers engaged with the industry, but also the people in the area who are paying dearly due to the problem. About half a million people live in the area. Residents reported constant strong odour that is intolerable and that affects their health.

They also reported damage to G.I. sheet-made roofs of their houses, gold ornaments, electronic gadgets, and household utensils. Galvanized iron (G.I.) sheets of roofs are modified as these corrode due to chemical reaction with gaseous wastes from the tanneries. A study conducted by the Allergy, Asthma, Environment Research and Skin Care Institute found that most of the residents in the area suffer from a number of diseases. The study was conducted on 140 persons in the area. It was found that 45 of the respondents were suffering from skin diseases, 52 from asthma, 76 from chest pain, 32 from jaundice, 19 from dysentery and 3 from blood pressure.

The areas that are affected by pollution from the tanneries include Hazaribag, Rayer Bazar, Jhigatala, Charakghat, Lalbag, Mohammadpur, Kolyanpur, Jafrabad, Neemtali, Basila, Katasur, Moneswar road, Sher-e-Bangla road, Post office road, Sanatanpara, Shankar, Sultanganj, Kalu nagar, Kamrangirchar and Islampur. The drains, ditches and water bodies in the area, and the river Buriganga that flows by, are polluted with the solid wastes and effluents from the tanneries. The effluents have changed the colour of water. Heaps of solid wastes from the tanneries could also be found at different places of the area. Now all concerned feel and agree to the proposal of re-location of the tanneries.

The residents, the press and environment activists repeatedly demand relocation of these units. A press report said that decisions to re-locate the tanneries were taken 5 times in 39 years, but none was implemented. There is also a plan to install waste treatment plants. Dhaka WASA, with financial support from UNIDO, already has installed a chromium recovery and re-use unit in the area. But all these made very little or virtually no impact on the lives of the residents in the area.

Polythene Bag and Plastic Materials: An Environmental Concern in Bangladesh

Understanding the importance of the created hazard  government has banned production, use and marketing of thin (less than 20 micron) polythene in Dhaka city with effect from 01 January 2002. 

Use of polythene has become a part of every day life for the people of Bangladesh. Market mechanism drives people to use polythene because it is cheap and easily available. Again it is “tough, water proof and easy to carry and store”. People go to the market empty-handed and return home with a number of polythene bags containing shopping goods.

There are more than 1500 factories of plastic materials in Bangladesh. Of them 400 produce polythene bags. These factories produce about 130 million polythene bags daily. About 10 million of them are thrown everyday as waste on the streets, in the drains and on the water bodies leading to serious environmental hazards.

Adverse effect on environment and public health due to indiscriminate use of polythene is colossal. Polythene bags cause blockage in the drainage/sewer system of the cities causing water logging, germination of bacterial and water-borne diseases, spread of mosquitoes, etc. There are more than 80 diseases caused by water borne germs. Only one piece of polythene bag can block a drain causing water logging, pollution in the drain and germination of bacterial and water borne diseases, spread of mosquitoes and bad smells.

Polythene has harmful effect on soil, water and air. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) found that polythene bags, by preventing sunlight exposure of the soil, destroy the beneficial bacteria causing loss of soil fertility. Processing and reprocessing of polythene substances cause air pollution. Street children collect polythene bags from the disposal sites and burn them in the open space for further production of other materials. By doing this they produce hydrogen cyanide and other poisonous gases that helps pollute air as well as affect health of the children.

Nearly 6.3 million used polythene shopping bag  used to be tossed away in Dhaka city every day until a ban was imposed on the use and sale (polythene shopping bags from 1 January 2002. Of this only 20 per cent could be cleared from the city dustbins and the remaining 80 per cent flowed into the sewerage systems or remained in the open. Moreover, polythene ultimately affect our health and environment.

POPs:

"Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)" are organic substances that : (i) Possess toxic characteristics; (ii) are persistent; (iii) bioaccumulate; (iv) are prone to long-range transboundary atmospheric transport and deposition; and (v) are likely to cause significant adverse human health or environmental effects near to and distant from their sources.

Once POPs enter the environment, they last a long time. Today, POPs are widely found in the environment in all regions of the world. They contraindicate food, they find their way into the human body, and they contribute to disease and to health deficits.

The realization of threats led a number of countries to introduce policies and legal and regulatory instruments to manage an increasing number of these substances. However, because of POPs' persistence and propensity to undergo transboundary movement, countries began to seek bilateral, regional and multinational cooperative actions. On May 23, 2001, a global, legally binding instrument called the Stockholm Convention on POPs was adopted. The Convention preamble expresses awareness of "health concerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from local exposure to POPs, in particular impacts on women and, through them, upon future generations." The Convention's objective is to protect human health and the environment from POPs.

The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants on 23 May 2001, after actively taking part in the negotiation process leading to the final Convention. As a Party and signatory to the Stockholm Convention, Bangladesh will be required to take actions to generate general awareness of harmful consequences of POPs to reduce their releases, and their ultimate elimination. Mr. Klaus Sakari Tyrkko on a POP's Mission for Project Support for Stockholm POPs Convention Follow-up came to Bangladesh during 20-29 November 2001.

During his stay in Dhaka he prepared an 'Enabling Activity Proposal' for Stockholm Convention on Phase-out of Persistent Organic Pollutants in consultation with stakeholders, which was subsequently forwarded along with the endorsement of the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) to GEF for approval. The Project Brief was approved by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEF Secretariat on 27 March, 2002. A Project Document was sent by UNDP on 28 July 2002 to the Secretary, MOEF for facilitating the Government's preparation of counterpart TAPP. The TAPP had been prepared in the light of "Project Document (PRODOC)" of UNDP and subsequently been approved by the appropriate authority.

A. DRAFT PROPOSAL : Priority-setting and Determination of Objectives for phase out of POPs in Support of the National Implementation Plan in Bangladesh

B. First Draft : National Implementation Plan (NIP) for Management of Persistent Organic pollutants, Bangladesh - Part I, Part II, Part III.

Source:

1. Department of Environment, DoE-GoB.       

2. People's Report 2002-2003 on Bangladesh Environment, Vol-1, MoEF-US-UNDP