MEDIA reports said an increasing number of poultry feed mills using dangerously toxic tannery wastes laced with poisonous chemicals as raw materials remain the biggest threat to public health. They are moreover flouting is a ban of the High Court for producing and marketing the toxic feed for animals which people take to slowly become sick.
It appears that the feed mills shifted their processing facilities from Hazaribagh to Savar following relocation of tannery factories in recent past. The feed millers faced no punitive action from the authorities though they continue to ignore the High Court ban imposed in 2011 and later upheld by the Appellate Division.
Recycling of toxic tannery wastes for making poultry feeds was banned as their consumption by fish and poultry birds could cause diseases and death. Acid, chromium, salt, sodium chloride and other heavy chemicals used to treat hides and skins gets into people’s blood system after they eat poultry meat and fish grown up eating such feed. Physicians have warned many times and health officials are also aware of the danger and yet its production and marketing continues unabated.
Workers engaged in the boiling of the leather waste say they work on contract basis at a minimum of Tk 2.5 for boiling and drying per kg of dry raw material for making poultry feed. It suggests they are also exposing them to the toxic and chemical waste endangering their health. Owners of feed mills seldom visit their processing plant as their local agents run the production and marketing. Some of the plants were demolished recently on public health safety concern but owners come to the spot again and rebuild them.
Reports said at least eight crude feed producing plants are now at work at the spot producing fish and poultry feed each engaging about 20 workers. People living around the tannery park said that almost all the tannery factory owners illegally sell their tannery wastes to the feed producers. .
Mention needs to be made, Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict of July 21, 2011 that asked for stopping poultry and fish feed production using tannery wastes as raw materials. The HC gave the verdict after hearing a public interest writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh. The HC had also ordered shutting down feed making facilities within a month.
The issue is so serious for public health because tannery wastes contain around 30 types of toxic materials including acid, chromium, salt and sodium chloride that cause cancer. So our health authorities must take it seriously to stop use of such toxic materials for producing animal feeds. Any negligence may be too dangerous to public health.
