Overriding need for setting up ETPs

Global consumers have become increasingly environment and human rights-conscious. They have put mounting pressure on retailers threatening not to import goods from developing countries like Bangladesh that are stained with workers' blood spilled due to workplace hazards, absence of basic rights and industries that are not environment-friendly. Consumers now abhor goods that are produced putting lives of thousands in peril.
Bangladesh today faces this grim situation long after the readymade garment (RMG) industry had made its journey in 1970s. The country would not have faced today's ordeal had our entrepreneurs taken care of ethical standards initially. It was simply inconceivable for outsiders to know before the international outcry that a good number of the garment factories so long lacked minimum safety standards including safe exit routes in case of fire.  But it is always better late than never. The RMG factory owners have lately set the ball rolling. Even many factories now have effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
Trends have it that in these days of globalisation, no country can expect to make a breakthrough in exports without meeting environment and workplace safety standards. Major buyers have made it known to exporters across the world that they will desert such goods. Bangladesh is no exception.
While workers' rights and workplace safety standards are being gradually but slowly introduced in Bangladesh, the country is yet to make its mark in ensuring effluent treatment facilities in industries. As the proposed national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 has accorded top priority to industrial growth, it should have imposed some stringent conditions on all prospective investors to come up with concrete proposals on ETPs and safety standards before they could establish industrial units. Moreover, the budget should provide fiscal incentives for establishing such eco-friendly industries that meet safety and welfare standards of workers.
The global concern in this regard is natural. Wastewater generated each day from homes, businesses and factories is eventually recycled to the environment to be used again. Thus, inadequate treatment of such a waste affects the overall quality of water supply.
Wastewater is generated from both residential and non-residential sources. Residential sources results from household activities while non-residential sources include offices, businesses, department stores, restaurants, schools, hospitals, farms, manufacturers and other commercial industrial and institutional entities.
Experts have found that chemical compounds present in the polluted water as well as biological pollutants such as pathogenic viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminths that may be present in the raw municipal wastewater have led to contamination of water bodies. One of the major reasons for diminishing water quality is due to industrial effluent released to the water bodies. As a result, the marine vertebrates and invertebrates as well as human health are affected.
The wastewater generated by manufacturing industries produces pollutants that are biologically and chemically harmful with high potential to cause diseases and detrimental environmental effects. Industrial process generates natural and synthetic organic chemicals while sewage discharge contains organic substances such as carbohydrates, lignin, fats, soap, synthetic detergents and proteins. The presence of inorganic substances including a number of potentially toxic elements such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, zinc and others resulting from industrial sources also contribute to outbreak of serious diseases.
The Prime Minister's recent warning that tanneries would be shut if these are not relocated to Savar on time is a timely wake-up call. Even the European Union (EU), the major buyer of leather products from Bangladesh, has set the deadline by December this year for tannery relocation to the environment-friendly park in Savar. The PM's concern emanates from long delays over such a shifting due to lack of a central ETP. Happily, the work on setting up of a central ETP has already begun at Savar.
ETPs have also been set up in 812 industries. The government has planned to introduce 100 per cent ETPs in all mills and factories by 2018 and monitor ETP activities through online. There are many mills and factories which have ETPs. But they keep inoperative their ETPs most of the time. But when the concerned environment officials visit their factories they start the ETPs, the Prime Minister alleged.
The cost of keeping highly-polluting tanneries at Hazaribagh is extremely high. Hazaribagh area, widely known for its tannery industry, has been listed as one of the top 10 polluted places on earth by two international research organisations. At least 160,000 people have become victims of pollution due to the presence of toxic chemicals, mainly chromium, in Hazaribagh, according to a report titled, "The Top Ten Toxic Threats: Cleanup, Progress, and Ongoing Challenges," published by Zurich-based Green Cross Switzerland and New York-based Blacksmith Institute.
Apart from hexavalent chromium, workers and residents of Hazaribagh also face a number of less severe but common health problems every day. Skin and respiratory diseases, for instance, result from repeated exposure to hazardous chemicals when measuring and mixing them as part of the tanning process. Acid burns, rashes, aches, dizziness and nausea are also common health problems faced by local residents.
What is alarming is that the homes of tannery workers in Hazaribagh are built next to contaminated streams, ponds, and canals. Informal leather recyclers who burn scraps of leather to produce a number of consumer products also heavily pollute the air. Around 95 per cent of the tanneries are located in Hazaribagh on 25 hectares of land, and most use old, outdated and inefficient processing methods. Every day, the tanneries collectively dump 22,000 cubic litres of toxic waste, including cancer-causing hexavalent chromium, into the Buriganga, Dhaka's main river. Today, even fish has gone extinct in the Buriganga, once the life-line of Dhaka city.
Days are not far off when global buyers will discard goods that are not produced after meeting ecological and safety standards. The ongoing inspections of the garment factories by global brands and retailers and the EU's latest deadline must serve as a wake-up call for our entrepreneurs. They need to put the basics right before it is too late. The government should also come forward to help them as a facilitator.
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arjayster@gmail.com