“The bubbles which you see are contaminated with chromium, and it is very poisonous.”

Standing next to a field of wilted crops near his small village of Payundee, Sonalal Yadav carefully hops over a drainage canal, which is overflowing with white foam.

An acrid stench fills the air as the water below is churned up and funneled through the small channels onto nearby farmland. On its way, vegetation that hangs in the water is beginning to turn a dark brown...
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  • Kiran Devi comes from a small village that is afflicted with water pollution from nearby leather tanneries. It is suspected that increased exposure to harmful toxins during mothers' pregnancies might be causing the increased number of children being born with mental disabilities in the villages outside Kanpur.
  • An elderly woman's hand in a small village outside Kanpur.
  • Waste water from tanneries is channeled onto nearby farmland in the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • Ayush Kumar, 10, lives in a village that is afflicted with water pollution from nearby leather tanneries. It is suspected that increased exposure to harmful toxins during mothers' pregnancies might be causing the increased number of children being born with mental disabilities in the villages outside Kanpur.
  • Kiran Devi comes from a small village that is afflicted with water pollution from nearby leather tanneries. It is suspected that increased exposure to harmful toxins during mothers' pregnancies might be causing the increased number of children being born with mental disabilities in the villages outside Kanpur.
  • A villager's hand in a community that is being afflicted by a wide variety of health problems, believed to be cause by contact with industrial waste water from nearby leather tanneries.
  • Waste water from tanneries is channeled onto nearby farmland in the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • Waste water from tanneries is channeled onto nearby farmland in the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • Waste water from tanneries is channeled onto nearby farmland in the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • Waste water from tanneries is channeled onto nearby farmland in the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • A man sits near a vat used for burning leather trimmings on the outskirts of the town of Kanpur. The leather is burnt, dried and then used as fertiliser and chicken feed.
  • A small pool of red water sits in a footprint in near a waste water channel in the town of Kanpur, in northern India. The water is laced with toxins and is highly acidic, giving it its distinct colour. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • Yakub Akhmed Khan, 27, looks at an X-ray of his lungs in his village near the city of Kanpur. He suffers from Tuberculosis brought upon by his time working as a painter in local tanneries. Health effects from the industry have included cancers, mental health problems, child development issues and skin diseases.
  • A villager who has lost his left eye due to infection, in a small community in the city of Kanpur.
  • Sandhya Katari, 4, lies on a bed outside her home in the Jajmau area of Kanpur. She is one of a number of children in the area suffering from mental development problems believed to be caused by prolonged exposure to toxins in the local water. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • A child worker trims pieces of leather outside of a tannery in the Jajmau area of Kanpur. The city is now India's leading exporter of leather goods, much of which is destined for western markets.
  • A small tannery in the backstreets of the Jajmau area of Kanpur.
  • A worker stands in a shaft of light in a small informal leather factory. The dust produced from the manufacturing of products is damaging to the worker's health health hence they try to protect themselves with basic face scarves.
  • A worker stands inside one of the many small, informal tanneries that operate in the Jajmau area of Kanpur.
  • Untreated waste water from tanneries is pumped directly into local sewers the Indian city of Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst water pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry. Waste water laced with toxins, such as chromium, is discharged in local waterways and agricultural land which is used many residents who live in the nearby area.
  • A child labourer sorts drying pig skins in a small factory in the Jajmau area of Kanpur.
  • A young boy stands near large vats that are used for burning leather trimmings on the banks of the Ganges River in Kanpur. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
  • A worker in a small factory walks past a gleaming motorbike, owned by local tannery bosses who run the highly polluting local industry.
  • A child worker pulls discarded leather trimmings discarded from local tanneries. The waste is laced with toxins produced in the tanning process. The city is notorious for having some of the country's worst pollution which is created by the local leathery tannery industry.
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