Toxic Tanning Industry (19th-20th Centuries)
Rivers downstream from leather tanneries ran different colors depending on the day’s chemical discharges. Workers developed distinctive cancers from chromium exposure. Fish disappeared completely from affected waterways. Drinking water became dangerous for communities miles away. The industry’s toxic legacy remains in contaminated sediments decades after many tanneries closed. Cleanup costs vastly exceed the original profits gained through untreated waste disposal.
