Officially too late? Textile industry polluting water with 'Forever Chemicals'

We never shied away from using our rivers, canals and wetlands as mere sewers to dispose of all our industrial, municipal or domestic wastewater, even solid wastes.

While advocating for pollution control, environmental activists and journalists often used the phrase 'now or never' to underscore the need to act without any further delay.

But apparently, it is already too late. PFAS, also called "Forever Chemicals", have been found in water samples taken from rivers, lakes and tap water from around the capital, a new study has found.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as forever chemicals because they resist decomposition due to strong chemical bonds and thus persist in nature when released.

Such substances are a threat to human health, with links to negative impacts on fertility, foetal development, and thyroid hormone function. Certain PFAS have also been linked to weakened immunity, liver damage, and cancer.

These chemicals are widely used by the textiles industry, which accounts for about 50% of the total global use of PFAS and is the second-largest PFAS emissions contributor, the study reports.

High PFAS was found in water where many textile factories are centred in Bangladesh.

The study, titled "Persistent Threat: PFAS in textiles and water in Bangladesh" and jointly carried out by Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), took 31 surface water samples and four tap water samples from the study area. 

The intensity of pollution

The study found PFAS in 87% of surface water samples (27 out of 31). In 58% samples, the researchers found PFAS that are listed for global elimination under the Stockholm Convention. 

For the study, researchers collected samples from several spots of Karnatali River in Savar, Tongi Khal in Gazipur and Ashulia Lake in Dhaka in 2019. Tap water samples were taken from Dhaka's Banani and Lalmatia and Savar's Panpara in the same year.

In 2022, they retested the samples from these spots, and in addition, tested new samples from the Shitalakhya and Buriganga Rivers, as well as from Gulshan Lake, Banani Lake, Hatirjheel Lake and Palashbari Lake in Baipail, upstream of the Dhaka Export Processing Zone.

In 61% samples, PFAS were detected above proposed EU regulatory limits for surface water. Several samples were found with very high PFAS levels. One sample contained PFAS at more than 310 times above a proposed EU regulatory limit. 

That sample also had the highest levels of globally banned substances like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) at more than 1,700 times higher than a current Dutch advisory limit for PFOA and more than 54,000 times higher than a current Dutch advisory limit for PFOS, the study says.

Bangladesh still has no specific regulations on PFAS, so the study compares its findings with standards developed or in development in the EU, Netherlands, and the US.

The researchers also compared findings from 2019 and 2022 and found that manufacturers may be shifting from PFAS to other polymers that can also degrade into other hazardous chemicals.

More worrying is the finding that PFAS has reached drinking water in the country. Seventy five percent drinking water samples contained the pollutant above US regulatory limit, and one above the EU limit.

Surprisingly, the tap water samples collected from Banani had the highest total concentration of PFAS in 2019.

"Contrary to the other two underground-sourced water samples, the tap water in Banani is sourced from surface waters. The contamination of tap water from Banani may be the result of the discharge of PFAS-polluted municipal and industrial waters into the watershed that sources tap water for the area," the report says.

The report also adds that the drinking water treatment process in 2019 included coagulation, filtration (without activated carbon), and disinfection. None of these methods remove PFAS from the water. 

Elevated levels of PFAS were identified on water samples collected in 2022 in Banani Lake as well as in two other neighbouring lakes, Gulshan and Hatirjheel Lakes, confirming overall contamination of the area.

The researchers also found PFAS on all clothing items they tested, meant for men, women and children. The report mentioned that one tested item contained PFOA, which is banned globally and prohibited for use in consumer products in countries that have ratified the Stockholm Convention amendment on PFOA, including Bangladesh.

The study also implicates major global brands, mentioning Benetton, C&A, Calvin Klein, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, and Zara as their suppliers are likely involved in PFAS contamination.

"These brand-name companies have tremendous market influence and should demand PFAS-free products. Some of the companies have publicly committed to ending their sales of products with PFAS," the report reads.

Siddika Sultana, a coauthor of the study and executive director of ESDO in Bangladesh, said, "Bangladesh is an international textiles manufacturing hub, and the prevalence of toxic chemical emissions from this sector puts our residents at higher risk. The fashion export industry should not get a free pass to contaminate our rivers, lakes, and taps with PFAS. 

"We are not against industry, but we are against pollution. As a party to the Stockholm Convention, Bangladesh should implement PFAS regulations and health-protective standards," she added.

The Shitalkhya and Buriganga Rivers also receive all kinds of pollutants. 

The study deduces that the numerous industrial and factory units along the river banks, including numerous textile mills in Tarabo (upstream from the Kanchpur Bridge), are the likely sources of PFAS in the Shitalakshya River.

It also concludes that another industrial pollution hot spot likely contributing to PFAS levels in the river is Ghorashal in Narsingdi, an area hosting factories involved in fabric production, clothing manufacturing, and chemicals and plastics production, as well as Gazipur, a major hub for garment manufacturing. 

Residential sewage water from the city may also contribute to PFAS levels in the river, the report says.

The study reveals elevated levels of PFAS pollution in the Buriganga River, with one sample exceeding the Dutch advisory limit for PFOA in surface water by five times. The heightened concentrations of PFAS in this area may be attributed to discharges from Hazaribagh, a hub for leather product manufacturing and from residential sources.

Unplanned development to blame

Reacting to the news, Mohammad Azaz, chairman of the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC) said that the study area has many dyeing, textile and chemical factories as well as the Tannery Estate that discharge wastewater without control. He said that  due to pollution the rivers have become devoid of fish resources, as a result of which the fishermen living in these areas remain unemployed for eight months every year.

"It is only normal that the pollution has reached groundwater, which is why the study has found PFAS in tap water. This is an urban crisis," Azaz added. 

"This research proves that wrongly planned and executed development has made Dhaka and surrounding areas toxic, thus harming the health and wellbeing of the people residing in the region, as well as the ecosystem and ecology," the researcher and activist continued.

"The Karnatali River once was home to a lot of small fish such as red Puti. Now the river and the whole flood plain of it do not support any agriculture and food production," the RDRC chairman said.

Azaz said that the case of Tongi khal is a similar one. The factories in Sreepur and Kalipur have been polluting the canal for a long time.

"The four districts around Dhaka – Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj and Manikganj – are undergoing a rapid transformation. This transformation is inevitable, but we think correct planning and its execution are imperative," he said.