Notable case, Jajmau (Kanpur), Uttar Pradesh, India
Kanpur, Jajmau tanneries
जाजमऊ, कानपुर
The Jajmau neighbourhood of Kanpur is India's oldest tannery district. The chromium used for tanning has ended up in the soil, in groundwater and in the Ganges, and is measured in the blood of those who live and work there.
At a glance
- Status
- Under assessment
- Media
- soil, groundwater, surface water, living organisms
- Kind of site
- tanneries
Contaminants
Status
Under assessment
The tanneries are operating. In 2017 there was only one treatment plant for tannery effluent, and the older one could treat at most 9 million litres a day; in 2019 a new plant costing 816.25 million rupees was planned (Wikipedia, read in 2026). Studies from 2022 and 2025 still measure chromium in groundwater and in residents' blood; the sources read report no soil remediation.
Story
Jajmau, on the right bank of the Ganges at Kanpur, is the city's leather district. Chrome tanning leaves trivalent chromium in the effluent which, under oxidising conditions, can turn into the hexavalent form, soluble and carcinogenic; the effluent also carries sulphates and salts.
Treatment capacity has stayed far below the volumes. In 2017, according to figures given by Wikipedia, 823.1 million litres a day of untreated sewage and 212.42 million litres a day of industrial effluent were going into the river, and there was only one plant for tannery effluent; the older one could treat at most 9 million litres a day. The Kanpur stretch of the Ganges is described in the literature as the most polluted of the whole river.
Measurements confirm the contamination: a 2022 study of groundwater, soil and crops in the neighbouring Unnao district found chromium in groundwater at Jajmau of 7.08 ± 1.42 mg/l. Other studies have documented the effects on workers: oxidative and DNA damage in tanners and exposed residents (2025), and far more frequent skin complaints among tannery workers (2021).
Timeline
- 2017In the Kanpur stretch 823.1 million litres a day of untreated sewage and 212.42 of industrial effluent go into the Ganges; a single plant treats tannery effluent.
- 2019A new treatment plant costing 816.25 million rupees is planned.
- 2022Chromium measured in Jajmau groundwater at 7.08 ± 1.42 mg/l.
- 2025Study of oxidative and DNA damage in tanners and residents exposed to chromium.
Health
A 2025 study of 100 occupationally exposed workers, 100 environmentally exposed residents and 100 controls in Jajmau found blood chromium, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and DNA damage significantly higher in the exposed groups (P < 0.001), with lower glutathione. A 2021 study of 284 tannery workers and 289 non-tannery workers in Jajmau found itching hands in 21%, scaling with fissures in 18%, red swollen hands in 11% and vesicles in 11%: those with moderate to high dermal exposure were 35 times more likely to have vesicles.
Remediation
- 2019effluent treatmentA new treatment plant for the tannery district's effluent was planned; the sources read report no action on the soil or groundwater already contaminated.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Azolla carolinianaCarolina mosquito fernEvidence: laboratory
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Fomitopsis pinicolaRed-belted conkEvidence: laboratory
Sources
- Kanpur, Wikipedia, 2026
- Jajmau, Wikipedia, 2026
- Singh G. et al. Fluoride and other potentially toxic elements in groundwater, soil and crops — Unnao district (reports Cr 7.08 ± 1.42 at Jajmau). Environmental Research 210:112927, Elsevier, 2022
- Verma P., Yadav P.G., Pragati K., Dubey R. Occupational chromium exposure and oxidative stress in tannery workers of Kanpur. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 29(1):25–31, Wolters Kluwer, 2025
- Kashyap G.C., Singh S.K., Chauhan B.G. Occupational skin complaints among tannery workers, Jajmau area of Kanpur. Indian Journal of Dermatology 66(4):347–351, Wolters Kluwer, 2021
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.