Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 4, 180-185 (1995)

FROM GREENING TO SUSTAINING: TRANSFORMATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR THE FIRM -

- I

A CASE STUDY OF POLLUTION ABATEMENT FROM TANNERIES IN KASUR, PAKISTAN Jawed Ali Khan, Director, Environment and Urban Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan

This case study of tanneries in Kasur presents an account of industrial trans- formation of an agrarian society in a developing country, Pakistan, with its effects, efforts to rehabilitate and the diffi- culties faced in abatement of pollution. The research attempts to respond to the question of the social and economic cost of achieving pollution abatement in Kasur and develop a viable model. The research methods adopted include reviews of sec- ondary data, personal interview and sample survey of tanneries in the study area. The results reveal how people have grappled with the problem of pollution abatement from the tanneries in Kasur and in creating decisive awareness at the local, national and international levels. The transformation of the city from a commercial centre to a semi-industrial tanning centre has led to a loss of 30% cultivable area due to contamination. It is reported that crop yield has dropped by 50% over the past 10 years. The total loss of agricultural income is estimated to be $450 thousand US per annum. The envir- onmental impact of tanneries is highly pronounced in the urban areas around the leather tanning industrial units.

Strong protest by the affected population has to some extent forced industrialists to rehabilitate the environment. NGO and the Government are also contributing to this effort. The case study of Kasur pre- sents an example of the community’s efforts to mobilize its local, financial and political resources to overcome the envir- onmental hazards, with the associated problems and dilemmas.

INTRODUCTION

asur is a medium-sized historical town in the north of Punjab Province, 54 km south of K the metropolitan city of Lahore, with a total

population of about 250 000 inhabitants (Govern- ment of Punjab, 1979). It has emerged as the second- largest leather-tanning centre of the country owing to its strategic location, availability of utility services and demand for leather. The leather sector is one of the largest foreign exchange earners of Pakistan. The annual national income from this sector is estimated at about $400 million US and the share of Kasur Tanneries is estimated to be $140 million US per annum, or 35% of the total national income from this sector.

CCC 0964-4733 / 95 / 04018O-06 0 1995 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and ERP Environment.

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

J.A. KHAN

ECONOMY AND SCALE OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

The tanneries occupy about 50 hectares or 18% of the 900-hectare city area. There are 170 tanneries, or 30% of the total tanneries of the country. These tanneries process approximately 8000 hides and 1200-1500 skins per day (Government of Punjab, 1992). This sector provides employment to 1500 people on a regular basis and serves as a source of livelihood for about 50 000 people who are directly or indirectly involved with one or the other process of tanning.

So far, only 5% of the tanneries in Kasur have attained a high level of modernization as they use automated plants for drying, pressing and dyeing of finished leather. The leather processing methods used by the Kasur tanneries are either conventional (pit process) or mechanised (drum process). The conventional or pit process involves vegetable tanning, manual operations at the stages of soaking, liming, fleshing, deliming and using barks and nuts, oiling and drying. All these operations take place in pits with very limited use of machines and equipment. The mechanised or chrome-tanning process comprises soaking, liming, fleshing, delim- ing, pickling, etc. with soaking and liming carried out in pits, using paddles, and all other operations carried out in drums. The drums vary in size, ranging between 8 x 8 and 12 x 12 feet.

The demand from local leather industries, domestic and international markets has led to rapid transformation in the tanning process from the conventional, i.e. vegetable, tanning process to the mechanized process. The primary reason for the changeover from the pit process to the drum process is the scale of economy in terms of time and production capacity. Tanneries using the pit process have a production capacity of 250 kg of hides and skins over a period of 5 days, whereas tanneries using the drum process in a drum of 8 x 8 feet produce wet blue leather at a rate of up to 1000 kg/ day, and in drums of 12 x 12 feet produce 2500 kg/ day. Less than 10% of the tanneries still follow the convention pit process while 85% have converted to the full or partial chrome-tanning process.

Table 1: The tanning process - water usage.

The quantity of water usage and discharge varies from tannery to tannery, process to process and time to time. The average water usage and discharge is based on field observations such as measuring the pits, drum size, the number of hides processed, etc. The consolidated data on the quality of water usage is indicated in Table 1.

Tannery effluent originating from the different stages of tanning and processing of hides and skins into wet blue leather releases dirt, blood and salt during soaking and washing. During liming and deliming, hair, protein, detergents, lime, soaps, sulphides, with high pH and high BOD, dissolved proteins, etc. are discharged. At the stage of pickling and chemical finishing, chromium, tan- ning, fat and liquors are released which pollute the surroundings and affect the health of workers as well as the community, who come into contact directly or indirectly.

Kasur is currently producing a total of 14 million m2 of leather annually. The bulk of this leather is consumed within the country by industries which are engaged in making leather garments, shoes and other fashion items for local consumption as well as for meeting significant demand for export of leather goods to European, American and other markets. As the tanning activity in Kasur is predominantly a home-based cottage industry, the profit margins of entrepreneurs are low and their access to capital and potential for modernisation is limited. Many tanneries find it difficult in the increasingly com- petitive environment.

There is a large informal market for recycled tannery wastes in Kasur, which consumes animal fats, leather, sheep hair, etc. for preparation of soap, glue and wools by small-scale home-based entre- preneurs. It provides an additional source of income and employment opportunities to the inhabitants of Kasur.

IMPACT OF INDUSTRIALISATION

The environmental impact of industrialisation on the traditional economic activity of Kasur is evident from the loss of 30% cultivable land area and

~~ -

Conventional (Pit) Tanning Process Raw to sole Raw head pieces to head pieces tanning

18 000 litres / tonne of raw hides 10 000 litres/ tonne of raw vegetable

Mechanized (Chrome) Tanning Process Raw to upper Raw to wet blue Wet blue to finishing

30 000 litres/ tonne of raw hides 20 000 litres/ tonne of raw hides 20 000 litres/tonne of wet blue

Source: Tanners’ Association, Kasur (1994).

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POLLUTION ABATEMENT IN PAKISTANI TANNERIES

significant reduction in milk and fish catches due to contamination of surface and ground water and degradation of soil. It is also observed that there has been a significant increase in the incidence of disease in the community. In particular, eye, skin and respiratory tract irritations, wheezing, tightness of chest etc. have been reported due to direct contact and exposure of tannery workers to toxic chemicals such as chromium, polyurethane, etc. and emission of fumes and dust from the tannery into the air also affects the environment of the surrounding community.

The total loss of agricultural crops is estimated to be $450000 US per annum. Effects on the aquatic environment and the fisheries are most damaging, as evidenced by declines in the fish catch. About 4million kg of fish catch from Deg Nallah, on account of the heavy pollution load, has been totally lost (International Union of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1993).

The rise in the cost of chromium powder has induced the tanneries to prepare liquid chromium 'Chromosole' through a highly hazardous proced- ure whereby the tanners add H2S04 to a mixture of potassium and brown sugar in a cement tank. This process emits fumes which cause choking to the factory workers as they remain heavily exposed to these fumes.

Small-scale tanneries making poor quality leather purchase used chromium solution from another tannery in open drums, which are hazardous. Similarly, workers involved with buffing, dyeing are also exposed to a very high degree of dust and fumes. Effects of chemicals used in tanning indus- tries on human health include chronic bronchitis, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, pneumoconiosis, irritation of the cornea, decreased pulmonary function, hepatotoxicity, etc. Long-term effects may lead to risk of bladder tumour, lung cancer and neuro- logical problems.

The environmental impact of tanneries is highly pronounced in the urban areas around the leather- tanning industrial units where small pieces of

treated and untreated leather and animal fats are scattered in open places all around the localities. This exposes the community to bad odours and contaminated and unpalatable ground water. Drinking water quality tests from the piped water and tube-wells over a period of 5 years (1989- 1994) show that the piped water and tube-well water is within the permissible standards pre- scribed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the quality of tube-well water is close to the maximum permissible limits for pollutants. Details of water quality are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparative analysis of drinking water quality, Kasur.

Characteristics of Tannery Effluent

The composite effluent so generated is very high in total dissolved solids (TDS) (6679 mg/l); suspended solids (SS) (4210 mg/l); sulphide (15 mg/l); chloride (1100mg/l); BODS (5070 mg/l); COD (8250mg/l). Most dangerous is, of course, chromium (70 mg/l) because it is toxic towards soil fertility, problematic for biological treatment and ultimately is a ground water contaminant. These pollutants exceed the EPA standards many times.

When allowed to stagnate, the effluent generates sulphur compounds of hydrogen and organic mater called mercaptans, which are the source of offensive smells. The chemical analysis of tannery effluent is shown in Table 3.

It is evident from the results that such a change in the environment has negative effects on aquatic life as well as on agriculture and livestock. The increased water turbidity due to settled solid matter contributes to a decrease in all forms of aquatic life, agricultural productivity and livestock farming, etc.

Responses from Stakeholders

The rapid deterioration of environmental condi- tions at Kasur has led to strong protests from the residents. The community has mobilized public

S. No. Parameters EPA effluent standard Piped Water Tube Well

(1989) (1994) (1989) (1994)

1 Colour - Colorless Colorless Colorless Colorless 6-10 7.2 8.19 7.0 8.15 - 730 753 2150 29.30 3 Conductivity

4 TDS (mg/l) 3500 410 460 1110 2053 5 BODS (mg/l) 80 0.0 0.2 2.0 8.0 6 COD (mg/l) 150 0.0 1.0 0.0 30

2 PH

7 Chloride (mg/l) 1000 124 150 1000 1110 8 Sulphide (mg/l) 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 9 Chromium (mg/l) 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Source: EIA report on Kasur Tannery Waste Treatment, IUCN (1993); Pakistan Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (1994).

182 BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

J.A. KHAN

Table 3: Comparative analysis of tannery effluent, Kasur.

S. No. Parameters EPA effluent standard Results

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

Colour - Appearance - P* -

80 BODS (mg/l) COD (mg/l) 150 SS (mg/l) 150 TDS (mg/l) 3500 Chromium (mg/l) 1.0 Sulphide (mg/l) 1 .o Chloride (mg/l) 1000

1989

Turbid

900.0 3200.0 1643.0 4040.0

25.0 28.0

1300.0

Grey

-

1993

Grey Turbid

4000.0 9000.0 3000.0

70.0 20.0

8500.0

-

-

1994

Grey Turbid

5070.0 8250.0 4210.0 6679.0

70.0 15.0

1100.0

-

Source: EIA report on Kasur Tannery Waste Treatment, IUCN (1993); Pakistan Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (1994)

pressure on stakeholders such as the trade associa- tions, chamber of commerce and industry, NGOs, politicians and government agencies.

As a result of intense public pressure during the past 5 years, the public sector agencies have taken a number of steps to ameliorate the environmental conditions of Kasur. During the early 1990s the Government initiated a wastewater drainage pro- gramme through the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Punjab with a cost of $0.1 million US. Recently, the Government has approved an integrated project which consists of installation of tannery effluent drainage and collection systems, evacuation of stagnant ponds, erection of primary effluent treatment plant, in- house improvements in occupational health and safety and a solid waste collection system at a cost of $10.147 million US. The project also includes the setting up of a chromium recovery plant. For implementation of the project, a Kasur Develop- ment Authority (KDA) and Kasur Tanneries Waste Management Agency (KTWMA), comprising three members from the public and three members from the private sector, has started functioning in the area.

The Kasur tannery effluent project was approved by the Government of Pakistan in mid-1994. The funding was envisaged through the Government of Punjab and international agencies. International aid in the form of grants was expected to be received to the tune of 66% of the total project cost from UNDP, NORAD and The Netherlands Government. The rest (34%) was to be raised through local resources, of which 50% was agreed to be provided by the Tannery Association of Kasur, 20% by the Govern- ment of Punjab and 15% each by the District Council and the Municipal Committee. However, due to delay in receipt of funds, this project could not commence until recently, when the Government allocated $25.80 million US through the Export Development Fund, Kasur Tanners Association pooled a sum of $0.65 million US, the Government

of Punjab $2.53 million US and UNDP $2.5 million US. Yet a major sum to the tune of 64% is still awaited from other donors. Despite innumerable obstacles the Government, with the active partici- pation of local tanneries, succeeded in launching the project in June 1995. The Prime Minister participated in the ground-breaking ceremony of the project.

The Leather Industrial Development Organi- zation (LIDO) has set up a 'Facility cum Training Centre' (FTC) at Kasur. This centre aims at impart- ing training to the tannery workers to use cleaner, safer and modern technologies for tanning. These include mechanised dyeing, drying, pressing and leather-slitting machines. The FTC provides train- ing only to workers in the dry process, whereas the major part of pollution is created in the early stages of leather processing up to the wet-blue stage. The expertise and training of FTC in the early stages of leather processing may be extremely beneficial from the environmental pollution abatement point of view.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has shown a high degree of motivation in cleaning the environment. The industrialists are seeking assist- ance from the government as well as international donor agencies to set up pilot demonstration industrial units which can disseminate environ- mentally friendly production technology to the industrialists.

The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Com- merce and Industry (FPCCI), in one of its technical documents has emphasised the need for attaining clean environmental technology because since 1980 industrial growth in Pakistan has been progressing at the rate of 7% per annum and by the year 2000 the size of the industrial base in Pakistan will be doubled. Under the existing environmental stan- dards even the current small size of the industrial sector in Pakistan is creating all sort of environ- mental emissions, effluents and silting problems. If these industries are not controlled in the next

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POLLUTION ABATEMENT IN PAKISTANI TANNERIES

decade then managing industrial pollution will be near to impossible. The FPCCI has therefore cautioned that if attention is not paid to controlling industrial pollution over the next 10 years, then the people of Pakistan will have to pay a high cost for healing the injuries of uncontrolled environmen- tally hostile industrial growth.

The FPCCI has emphasised that regulations cannot be implemented just by stating them on paper. These need to be properly demonstrated to the concerned parties, i.e. industrialists, to achieve the desired objectives. The following three factors have been identified as major hurdles in the achievement of a green industrial process:

(i) lack of expertise; (ii) general perception that environmental solu-

tions are capital-intensive, hence economically not viable;

(iii) at the time of establishment of existing indus- tries no such environmental regulations were in existence.

The Tanneries Association, apart from making a contribution to the tune of $0.64 million US for the Kasur integrated project, have pooled $0.16 million US through their own efforts from the tannery owners by charging $167 US/drum, which was used for implementing a simplified tannery waste treatment and disposal system. Through the self- help system, the community has built one waste- water reservoir of 200 x 20 feet and a 2-km-long drain and are still engaged in proceeding with their programme. So far, 60% of the funds have been exhausted. The association intends to build two more stabilization tanks and wastewater drains for 6 km so that tannery effluents are sufficiently clean before disposal into the natural drain.

THE PROCESS AND PROSPECTS OF GREENING OF TANNERIES IN KASUR

The tanners of Kasur have shown a high degree of receptivity to the improvement proposals. This is evident from the efforts made for setting up of FTC with the assistance of The Netherlands Government and Norwegian assistance agreed for the project; creation of the Kasur Tanneries Association, as well as Kasur Small Tanners’ Association; polling of a sum of $0.16 million US; and erection of a complete network of drains to channel the entire discharge of tannery effluent into the stabilisation tank built by the community on self-help basis. It was also witnessed that an old local tannery owner was cleaning the waste water drain himself, voluntarily; he mentioned that every day he cleans about 2 4 km

of drains, as a service to the community and to God.

Despite the best intentions and sincerity of the local community, the benefits could not be reaped due to lack of technical know-how of the members of the Tanneries Association. They could not adequately work out design parameters for erection of stabilisation tanks. Thus a large part of the sum of $0.16 million US collected from the local tanneries at the rate of $165/drum was spent ($0.1 million in paving 2 km of drain and building a settlement tank of 200 x 60 x 6 feet), without achieving many benefits, since the designed retaining capacity of this tank for liquid waste collection became suffi- cient only for 2 hours storage and retention of the tannery effluent in the tank at the current rate of 8000m3/day. The capacity of the settlement tank could have been increased many times without incurring much additional expense, simply by increasing the depth or width of the tank, or both.

On the basis of the prevalence of a high degree of motivation among the local tanners it was envisaged that the tanneries in Kasur can attain greening, provided the tanners receive practical demonstrations of environmentally clean produc- tion systems and these are affordable.

The total cost of the Kasur integrated wastewater treatment project, launched by the Government of Pakistan with the assistance of international agen- cies at a cost of $10.147 million US, which is about 7% of the total income of Kasur tanners ($140 million US), could have been significantly reduced if the drainage network built by the community for treatment of tannery wastes had been made an integral part of the drainage system and the designs had been modified to accommodate the work already carried out by the people themselves on a self-help basis.

The motivation and community involvement in efforts towards abating pollution has attracted a number of international agencies, and the Govern- ment of Pakistan with the support of local politi- cians has made meaningful contributions, which will prove a landmark in abating environmental pollution from the tanneries, i.e. from the small- and medium-sized Entrepreneurs (SMEs).

The Kasur Tanneries Association and Small Tanners’ Association have recently launched an in-house improvement campaign to ensure better occupational health and safety conditions in the tanneries. In collaboration with the Kasur Project personnel the workers will be trained to adopt safety practices, use gloves and masks, and wear gowns. Ventilation and lighting facilities will be improved to avoid the pungent smell. Safety guards will be installed to prevent accidents from machines. These measures are expected to yield

184 BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

positive results in abating pollution from Kasur through active community participation and com- mitment of the public and private sector.

J.A. KHAN

abatement of pollution from the globe, to ensure a better future for us to share the fruits of develop- ment and for the generations to come.

CONCLUSION REFERENCES

It is evident that significant achievements have so far not been made in ameliorating the environ- mental conditions in Kasur, because of the lack of an integrated and coordinated approach from the stakeholders.

It is revealed from the experience of Kasur that the local communities not only serve as a watchdog against polluters but also possess tremendous potential power, which could reverse the wheel of environmental pollution. The community could play a decisive role in abating environmental pollution in search of a better and safer future if their resources could be properly utilised. There is a need to pool the technological, financial and other resources of all the stakeholders and to develop a comprehensive action plan to adequately arrest environmental hazards posed by the effluents from the tanneries in Kasur.

The case study of Kasur reveals that the growth of SMEs in Kasur has brought some economic pros- perity but has simultaneously brought much larger negative environmental impact. The experience of Kasur is also substantiated from the situation in Multan, where there were a number of tanneries which were discharging toxic wastes into agri- cultural fields. The local community got together and filed a suit in the Court of Law. The Court asked the tannery owners to stop discharging of effluent in the agricultural fields and to rectify the damages. This led to a collective effort by the community, Tanneries Association and the local NGOs in mitigating the damages and adopting measures for a better environment.

It is envisaged that as the developing countries inhabited by three-quarters of the worlds popu- lation are aspiring to rapid industrialisation and economic prosperity, policies for adherence to environmental regulations may become difficult to implement for fear of unemployment and economic set-back. This danger can, however, be averted if collective effort is made for judicious distribution of resources, and commitment is displayed by all in

Government of Punjab (1979) Outline Development Plan, Kasur (1980-95), Housing & Physical Planning Depart- ment, Lahore, p.i.

Government of Punjab (1992) Kasur Tannery Pollution Control Project, PC-I (revised), Housing, Physical and Environmental Planning Department, Lahore, p.12.

Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (1994) Laboratories Complex, sample tested, Lahore, October 10.

International Union of Conservation and Natural Resources (1993) Environmental Impact Assessment of the Proposed Tannery Waste Treatment Works at Kasur, Karachi, February, p.44.

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BMB Management Consulting for Development BV (1993) Environmental Audit Framework, Vol. XIV, The Netherlands, March.

Environment and Urban Affairs, Government of Pakistan (1992) National Report to UNCED, 1992, Karachi.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (1994) Technical Proposal for Environmental Technology Programme for Industry in Pakistan, Karachi.

Housing, Physical and Environmental Planning Depart- ment, Government of Punjab (1992) PC-I on Kasur Tannery Pollution Control Project (revised), Lahore.

Housing & Physical Planning Department, Government of Punjab (1979) Outline Development Plan - Kasur (1980- 19954 Lahore.

International Union of Conservation & Natural Resources (1993) Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed Tannery Waste Treatment Works at Kasur, Karachi, February.

Leather Industry Development Organization, Ministry of Industries, Government of Pakistani (1989) PC.1 on Establishment of Primary Treatment Plant for Tanneries Efluent at Kasur, Islamabad.

Quarrie, J. (Ed.) (1992) Earth Summit 92. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Regency Press Corporation, London.

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