Kanpur is the ninth-largest city in India, and one of its most severely polluted. Its eastern districts feature about 350 industrial leather tanneries, many of which discharge untreated waste into local groundwater sources and the Ganges River. These pollutants include toxic levels of metal contaminants such as chromium, mercury, and arsenic. Chromium is the most worrisome of these: popular in the tanning industry because it makes leather goods stronger, its waste form--hexavalent chromium or Cr VI--is known to cause lung cancer, liver failure, kidney damage, and premature dementia. Noraiakheda, a settlement of 30,000 people within Kanpur, has developed right on top of a plume of Cr VI emitted by toxic sludge from an old chemical plant that had supported the tanneries. The sludge is a source of pollution and a danger to human health. Flammable methane trapped inside the sludge catches fire during the hot summer months, releasing harmful toxins into the air. Summer heat and winds also distribute dust particles from the sludge containing Cr VI and other toxins that are harmful when inhaled. Chromium from the sludge leaks into the river, subsoil, and groundwater - the primary source of drinking water for the surrounding community. A 1997 study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board on the groundwater quality in Kanpur revealed Cr VI levels of 6.2 mg/L; the Indian government places the limit at .05 mg/L.

Aruputo lies to the east of Kolkata near Science City. There are around 40 large unlicensed facilities processing leather trimmings. The scrap leather trimmings, which appear blue from chromium tanning, are processed into fertilizer by boiling them in large pots; and the water is then dumped into local water bodies. The resulting black pieces are left to dry in the open after which they are bagged and sold as fertilizer to the tea estates in the northern districts.

Ranipet is a medium-sized community located about 100 miles from Chennai, the fourth largest urban area in India. A factory in Ranipet manufactures sodium chromate, chromium salts and Basic Chromium Sulfate Tanning Powder used locally in the leather tanning process. The raw materials used in the process include chromate ore, limestone soda ash, sulfuric acid and soldium chlorate.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) estimates that about 150,000 tons of solid wastes accumulated over two decades of plant operation are stacked in an open yard (three to five meters high and on 2 hectares of land) on the facility premises.

Chromite, a heavy metal used in the production of chrome metal and chromium, was discovered in India, in 1949. Today, about 97 percent of the nation’s deposits are found in the mineral-rich earth of the Sukinda Valley, Jajpur district, and it is the home to one of the largest open cast chrome ore mines in the world. Over 30 million tons of overburden (leftover rock after ore-removal) litters the surrounding areas and the Brahmani river banks. This area is flood-prone resulting in significant contamination of the waterways.

Tangra lies on the outskirts of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and was famous for its leather tanning industry.

A Supreme Court order forced the tanneries to relocate to a self-contained leather-processing complex in the Bantala area. This was in response to public interest litigation filed by environmentalists alleging that pollution from the industries exceeded the state pollution standards.

However some tanneries still exist here to this day despite relocation orders. This region has a very high water table and several wetlands around the old tannery sites. The entire area is about half a dozen city blocks in size.

Tiljala lies in eastern Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. About 34 small-scale secondary lead smelters operate here. They are located in close proximity to dense residential areas and open water bodies, thus endangering residents with lead exposure from smelter emissions and dust.

Hema Dyechem Private Limited, formerly Hema Chemicals, operated a chromium sulfate manufacturing unit in the Gorwa Industrial Estate of Vadodara (a city about 115 kilometers south of Ahmedabad) from 1965 until 2001. Despite the enactment of the Hazardous Waste Rules in 1989, the company disposed of approximately 77,000 tons (estimated by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board) of toxic chromium waste in areas neighboring the unit. The laborers working in the factory were unaware of potential health risks, and used the chromium-rich sludge to fill up low-lying ditches in the neighborhood. They also mixed the sludge with cement to construct their houses and spread it around the boundaries of surrounding fields.

The abandoned plant site itself covers about 15,000 square feet and is highly contaminated with chromate salts. Yellow discoloration, a sign of chromate contamination, is obvious throughout the site and on building structures. This site clearly is in need of remediation.

The illegal dumping areas may cover as much as seven kilometers of filled trenches along roads in the vicinity of the factory. A study of this region is being conducted under the direction of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) by the Delhi-based National Productivity Council.

Hema’s illegal dumping at this site has spurred the largest public interest litigation in Indian history. GPCB has sued the industry for Rs. 17 crores. The case is currently under appeal in the Supreme Court.

M/s.Orichem Ltd. is located at the Balanda village near Talcher and in the district of Angul, Orissa. At Talchar, there is an abandoned hazardous waste dumpsite associated with M/s Orichem Limited (OCL). M/s OCL was engaged in the production of chrome salts such as sodium dichromate and basic chrome sulfate. The unit was operational since 1983 with an installed production capacity of 3300 TPA. It was closed down in 1998.

Significant industrial waste is haphazardly dumped into the Meycauayan River, a source of domestic and agricultural water for 250,000 people living in and around Manila. Substantial contamination comes from small scale lead recycling facilities along the river at Marilao, and from the many tanneries that dump untreated hexavalent chromium into the river. This river also feeds directly into the Manila Bay, and its effluents contaminate shellfish in commercial fishing areas.