Bangladesh has achieved steady economic growth of almost 6% annually over the last decade while half the population still lives under poverty line. Bangladesh is one of the Next 11 (N11), which have a great prospect of becoming middle income countries within a few years. Bangladesh is likely to achieve the status by 2021.
However, Bangladesh faces a range of problems including the environmental one. The country confronts with drought, flood and other natural hazards almost every year. The quality of soil has deteriorated due to use of chemical fertilisers, unplanned land use, undesirable encroachment into forest areas for agriculture and settlements and indiscriminate disposal of hazardous industrial wastes.
Temperature is rising for the reason of global worming, which is caused by emission of carbon and other gases increasing sea water level.
The surface water of the country is polluted through disposal of untreated industrial effluents and municipal waste water, runoff pollution from chemical fertilizers and pesticides and oil and lubes spillage in the coastal area from the operation of sea and river ports and ship wreckage.
Air pollution is one of the man-made environmental disasters that is creating environmental hazard all over the world. There are two major sources of air pollution in Bangladesh, namely vehicular emissions and industrial emissions, which are mainly concentrated in the cities. There are also numerous brick-making kilns working in dry season all over Bangladesh, which is another source of air pollution. Almost all of these kilns use coal and wood as their source of energy, resulting in the emissions of sulfur-dioxide and volatile organic compounds.
The depletion of biodiversity is the result of various kinds of human interventions by way of destruction and degradation of land, forest and aquatic habitats. These activities encompass the sectors of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, urbanisation, industry, transport, tourism, energy, chemicals and minerals etc. In the fisheries sector, unplanned shrimp cultivation has negative impact on environment. It has caused serious environmental damage that has harmed fish and other aquatic species.
A World Bank report has said Bangladesh could save between $200 million and $800 million per year if air pollution is reduced in just four major cities. There is another report saying homeless street children, local streetwalkers, and rickshaw pullers in the city of Dhaka pose a definite threat to the air pollution. Young children are mostly exposed to cadmium (Cd) through inhalation of smoke and contaminated soil including dust from the industrial emission and sewage sludge.
There is high concentration of lead (Pb) in the environment from variety of chemicals and other products based on lead and gasoline, batteries used; and also products like paints, ceramics, pigments etc are not under scrutiny to control lead content creating high concentration of lead in the environment.
The Textile industry is the fastest growing sector in Bangladesh. It accounts for almost 75% of annual foreign currency earnings. But this sector is also a source of major environmental pollution.
The wastewaters and other effluence released by the textile sector, which are characterized by high alkalinity, high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and high-suspended solids, are often disposed off in nearby rivers, canals, ponds or lakes without proper treatment. Wastewater released by those industries contains toxic refractory dye at a high concentration. Most of the dyes used in the textile industry are non-biodegradable.
The water of the Buriganga is now so polluted that all fish have died, and increasing filth and human waste have turned it like a black gel. Even rowing across the river is now difficult for it smells so badly.
The Bangladesh Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) in its report says a large number of the 8000-12000 workers at the tanneries suffers from gastrointestinal, dermatological and other diseases that could be related to the pollution and that 90% of them die before they reach the age of 50.
The affected area is Hazaribagh, where 240 tanneries are located on 25 hectares of land. Most of the tanneries are 30-35 years old and use mineral tanning processes that discharge about 6000 cubic metres of liquid effluent and 10 tonnes of solid waste every day, according to figures from the Bangladesh government and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The liquid and solid industrial wastes greatly pollute the topsoil, which is highly productive and suitable for plant growth. Industrial wastes bring about great changes in the physical characteristics and chemical composition of the soil. Thus, industrial wastes lead to deterioration of soil quality.
Bangladesh has wide use of DDT as a pesticide although there is Pesticide Ordinance of 1971 and Pesticides Rules, 1985, making mandatory condition of registering DDT with relevant authority. There is no record of quantity of DDT used with the Plant Protection Wing (PPW) or Pesticide Association of Bangladesh (PAB). The use of DDT by City corporation is rampant.
There is no regulation of handling of the equipment with printed circuit board (PCBs). Since there is no disposal mechanism for PCB waste including the obsolete equipment, waste liquid with PCBs and solid PCB waste (metal, non-metal or soil contaminated with PCBs) generated by the leaks, damaged equipment or remediation and cleaning of facilities and sites contaminated with PCBs, many of these find their way in to the landfills.
Ship breaking sites are another threat since they release Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) into the environment. The concerns have grown since this is a growing industry in Bangladesh.
There are around 20-25 ship breaking yards where over 50 old ships are dismantled annually. It is a known fact that old ships contain PCBs in their electrical systems, paints and coatings, cables, lubricants, engine oils etc. In 1998, about 90% of the world's old ships were disposed in these areas. Based on the most conservative estimates the total quantity of PCBs from the ship breaking sector is around 22.5 tonnes. A significant quantity of PCBs have been disposed in the ground as well as spilled into the environment.
Bangladesh has production facilities for iron and steel, copper, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, brass, and magnesium; foundries and thermal non-ferrous metal production as nickel. Of these Iron and steel and Aluminum production are the biggest contributors of dioxins and furans in the environment. The release is largely to air and through residues. The entire category however contributes approximately 31.98 g TEQ/a as per the estimates.
Power generation and heating including power plants run on fossil fuel; domestic cooking and heating are done using biomass and fossil fuels and others. This category is estimated to release 79.49gTEQ/a of dioxins and furans to the environment. Fossil fuels are the main sources of power generation and heating in Bangladesh. This category includes processes and practices that involve combustion of fossil fuel, biogas and others.
Production of mineral products includes cement, brick, glass, ceramic and others. The total release from this category is estimated at 9.091gTEQ/a. This largely includes processes carried out at high temperature. Bangladesh produces 15,000,000 tonnes of cement; 145,763 tonnes of lime, 25,376,000 tonnes of brick, 16,720 tonnes of glass and 94,680 tonnes of ceramics.
Brick kilns and cement factories are the largest contributors of dioxins. There are over 100 cement factories across the country most of them concentrated in and around Chhatak, Ayeenpur, Dhaka, Chittagong and Mongla. Similarly, there are over 6,000 brick kilns located near towns or major construction sites.
Transport sector in Bangladesh is one of the predominant sectors in terms of energy consumption. The transportation is largely based on petroleum oils and natural gas. Leaded fuel was banned in 1999. This category together is estimated to release 1.514 gTEQ/a of dioxins, a large part contributed by 4-stroke engines, 2-stroke engines, diesel engines and heavy oil fired engines.
Source: The Financial Express. By M S Siddiqui. 2 July 2010
