The document discusses the hazardous effects of waste from leather tanneries in Sialkot, Pakistan on the environment and public health. It notes that tannery waste is discharged untreated into local streams and soil, contaminating water and making the soil unsuitable for agriculture. Interviews with workers at a tannery in Sialkot found they lack proper protective equipment and health and safety training. The document concludes the wastewater poses serious threats to both human and aquatic life if issues are not addressed, and recommends treating tannery effluent before discharge and providing worker training and health monitoring.

1. LEATHER TANNERIES WASTE AND ITS
HAZARDOUS
EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Zainab Arshad
BS Hons, Environmental Sciences
University Of Gujrat, Pakistan

2. STUDY AREA
• The tannery units are well dispersed in the four tehsils (Sialkot,
Pasrur,Daska and sambrial) of the Sialkot district, with uneven
distribution in urban and suburban areas. The area concerned with
our study is Khalid tanners in Sialkot (Owner: Sheikh Khalid) and
local areas.

3. MAIN OBJECTIVE
• The objective of our investigation is to determine the toxic effects
of tannery effluents on tannery workers and the local residential
areas near the tannery units.
• how its contaminating the nearby water and soil.

4. METHODOLOGY
• Personal interviews from workers
• Random sampling
• Analysis by using MS office 2013

5. INTRODUCTION
• Sialkot has become a major industrial town of Pakistan since
independence.
• Every fifth house in the residential area is a factory with all its evils
i.e. contaminating water, air and soil through the discharge of
volumetric hazaduous effluents.
• In Sialkot city there are 250 tanning unit.

6. INTRODUCTION
• Heavy discharge of wastewater from the tannery causes many
problems to tanners and local community of the Sialkot.
• The toxic heavy metals from industrial units in Sialkot are entering
in food chain and drinking water supplies that ultimately pose
serios illness in human residing near these industrial units.

7. MAJOR TANNERY EFFLUENTS THAT ARE
EFFECTING THE PUBLIC HEALTH:
• The major tannery effluents are listed below:
• Chromium
• Lead
• Cadmium
• Zinc
• Arsenic

8. DISCHARGE OF TANNERY
EFFLUENT IN WATER:
• In Sialkot, the disposal of tannery wastes either in solid and
liquid is generally done in natural water streams, open lands or
municipal sewers.
• If we talk about the channel of waste water discharged from the
tannery industry in Sialkot the waste water is dumped into the
ground and also in streams that further moves towards

9. DISCHARGE OF TANNERY
EFFLUENT IN WATER:
Nuallah Aik and Pulkhu and then into Chenab river.
• These effluents increase the amount of BOD and COD and
change the pH of water by increasing its toxicity.
• Such disposal practices are against the environmental safety
and waste disposal protocols.

10. EFFECT OF TANNERY EFFLUENTS
ON SOIL:
• The untreated water, poisonous chemicals and waste effluents
from the tanneries is directly dumped into the soil without any
treatment.
• The liquid portion of the waste is seeped into the soil due to
which it changes the composition of soil.
• The soil fertility is reduced and its pH is changed

11. EFFECT OF TANNERY EFFLUENTS
ON SOIL:
• As this polluted water is then used for irrigation purposes and
cause a grdual fall in agriculture production.
• From the past decade due to the rapid increase in the number
of tanneries in Sialkot there is a gradual decrease in the
agricultural production of nearby areas.

12. WHAT WE OBSERVE?
• As we have visited the Khalid Tanners and nearby areas in Sialkot
to observe there working conditions we observe that their
working condition is not so good.
• The average age of workers working in the tannery from 18 to 40.
• The workers are working without any safety measures.

13. WHAT WE OBSERVE?
• They have no proper PPE,s(Personal Protective Equipments).
• They have no regular checkups.
• They are unaware about the hazaduous health effects related to
their work in tanneries.
• They are unaware of the health issues they are facing regarding
their work.

14. WHAT WE CONCLUDED?
• The diminishing quality of water seriously delimits its use for
human consumption and for aquatic life.
• river water is certainly unfit for domestic and irrigation purposes
without any form of treatment.
• Tanneries pollution generally accelerates to cause greater
deterioration. So few years from now, serious water quality
deterioration could take place, which will serious threat to aquatic
and human life.

15. WHAT WE CONCLUDED?
• Tannery wastewater is highly polluted in nature and being
discharged without any treatment into canals and municipal
sewerage system to eventually reach the rivers of Pakistan.
• In Sialkot a great problem in tanning technology is the lack of
information and difficulty in procuring chemicals.
• The wastewater is directly affecting the soil and indirectly to the
drinking water of the area through leaching in the water table.

16. RECOMMENDATIONS
• The workers should be provided with proper PPE,s.
• The workers should be aware of the nature and use of chemicals.
• The workers should have proper checkups every month.
• The effluents from tanning processes may be characterized and
studied for their pollution load. Based on the results obtained
from this study a realistic decision with regard to setting-up of a
pre-treatment/recycling plant for tanneries in Sialkot may be
taken.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Crops are grown around tannery effluent ponds. The chemical
examination of the soil in the nearby area is desirable to assess its
quality and the possible uptake of pollutants by the food crops.