ppl rlly dont know how modern leather is tanned and it shows lmao theres not enough plastic in the world enough to ruin ecosystems the way those chemicals do. Y'all just love paying corperations to taint people’s drinking and cropgrowing water with chromium and aldehydes.
Chromium is the most pervasive and hazardous pollutant found in the tannery processes. Trivalent chromium is used as part of the tanning process and is washed off from leathers and can be present in tannery wastewater in significant amounts. Trivalent chromium is not highly toxic, but in its use in various processes can oxidize into the more harmful hexavalent chromium4. Hexavalent chromium is a carcinogen that can be potentially harmful to lung and stomach cancer.
There are more than 100 sites identified by the Pure Earth Toxic Sites Identification Program polluted by tannery operations, putting almost 1.5 million people at risk. These sites consist of contaminated legacy tannery sites or small poorly run facilities. Pure Earth estimates that exposure to hexavalent chromium and lead specifically from tanneries contributes to about 15 percent of the some 925,000 to 1.19 million DALYs in the area of the 100 identified sites.
Harmful chemicals, primarily hexavalent chromium, can be discharged as wastewater or in solid waste and sludge. Chromium can be present in wastewater at level up to 100-400mg/L5. Untreated wastewater can also contain acids and alkalis water, pesticides and insecticides, and other harmful chemicals. Solid waste products can include chromium-contaminated waste and animal flesh that can contribute pathogens. The waste is often released through direct dumping or improper disposal in unprotected dumpsites. Pollutants may be absorbed by the soil and leach into groundwater sources. The main pathways for human exposure to pollutants from tanneries are ingestion of contaminated food and water.
