Narrator: This cocktail of toxic chemicals is what turns raw hides into leather. But years of exposure without protection can also cause cancer and
other deadly diseases. Mohammad Daud Ibrahim has
been working in the industry since he was 10. Narrator: Leather goods are the country's second biggest export. But tanneries dump 5.2 million gallons of untreated liquid waste every day. Still, nearly a million
people work in an industry that studies have found
will kill 90% of them by the time they're 50 years old. So how has an industry
that is so destructive gotten so big? There are more than 200
tanneries in the capital, Dhaka. And most of them are in the
neighborhood of Hemayetpur, where Daud lives. Narrator: He freelances at
different tanneries every day. Daud peels off any jagged
skin hanging off the rawhides. He says it doesn't smell
as bad as you'd think. Narrator: In some tanneries, workers submerge the hides in chemicals to get rid of any lingering hair. But at other tanneries, these rotating drums do the same thing. Three days of spinning turns the hides into this whitish gray color. Workers mix in calcium hydroxide to split apart the layers of the hides. Then, they organize the
hides into these bundles. They're stored under a plastic tarp until the tannery is
ready to process them. The hides bake out in the
sun for at least a day. Drying is typically a
job reserved for women, because it doesn't
require as much strength. But they're hunched over for
hours in the scorching heat. Once the hides are fully dry, Daud cuts off any dangling pieces to smooth out the edges again. He says everyone who works
here must be 18 or older. Narrator: But we filmed at five tanneries and saw children at all of them, including the one Daud was at. Kids over 14 are allowed to
work at factories in Bangladesh, but some in the industry
are as young as 7. And according to a recent report, 90% of workers don't
live past the age of 50 because of all the
chemicals they're touching. Narrator: The hides then go through another round of refining. Some tanneries rely on
these shaving machines to take off the top layer of fibers. It gives the leather an even surface. The scraps are sent to
a landfill later on. Workers load the pieces into drums for a process known as bluing. This step uses a violet powder, chromium sulfate, which preserves the hides and prevents them from
rotting in the future. After spinning for as long as three days, the hides turn a lighter bluish shade. The process helps create
soft, stretchable leather, but the hides are still a little damp. So they hang them up to dry. At another tannery, workers use a different technique by clipping and hanging
the hides to dry them out. They work fast and can
align dozens of hides in just an hour. Then, a split machine
helps thin out the leather so it's even before it's colored. The final and most dangerous
step is known as tanning. Workers have to soak the
hides in tanning agents, which are often a mixture of formaldehyde, azo colorants, and pentachlorophenol. These chemicals protect the hides so they don't lose their texture, but they're all potential carcinogens. Sometimes, workers contract bronchitis or pneumonia from exposure. Inhaling the vapors can also
burn the eyes and throat. While the health risks here are plenty, the pay is not. Narrator: They earn about one or two cents for each hide they process. Daud makes $4 on a good day. That's enough to buy 4
liters of milk in Dhaka. Government officials come by sometimes to check if people are getting
at least the minimum wage, which is about $65 a month. But Daud says workers often
make much less than that. Narrator: And workers say they don't get any medical help. Narrator: The leather industry has turned Dhaka's Hazaribagh neighborhood into one of the most
polluted places on Earth, with more than 150 tanneries packed into just 50 acres of land. They regularly dumped chemicals, including chromium salts and
acids into the waterways, creating poisonous rivers. Visitors who weren't used to the smell said the whole town wreaked of rotting carcasses and sulfur. For a fresh start, the government moved the tanneries and their 25,000 workers to a new district, Hemayetpur, but little changed. The government's filtration
system was supposed to process all of the wastewater. Still, in the last six years, it's never functioned at full capacity. Narrator: The toxins are leaking into the groundwater, too. The government said it's
working on solutions, but it refuses to shut down the tanneries in fear of what that
might do to the economy. By 2030, Bangladesh wants
to earn at least $10 billion from the export of leather goods, compared to the $1 billion
the industry is worth now. These days, most of its
leather is sold in China. Narrator: Bangladesh still isn't one of the world's top leather producers, but it's quickly grabbing global markets because labor costs are so low. That comes at the expense of
tannery workers like Daud. Narrator: Daud has been working since he was 10 years old. He couldn't finish school, so he has few other options. That's why he wants a different life for his 1-year-old son, Noor Mohammad. Narrator: And he says if
conditions don't improve for leather workers, he'll try his best to send his son abroad.
