Characterization, fluexes and toxicity of leatther tanning bath chemicals in a large tanning district area (IT)

The leather tanning industry is perceived as responsible of a significant consume of natural resources and output of wastes such as high concentration of organics, salts and heavy metals such as chromium, both in solid and liquid form as a result. Now as ever the future of tanneries strongly depends on the increase of their awareness that a sustainable industry for the future means embracing a forward-looking philosophy of the leather making process through optimal resource management within the tannery. This study reports the characterization of some chemicals used in a large tanning district area in terms of COD, BOD, aromaticity (UV280) and double bond (UV254) absorbance measurements, toxicity on fresh and saline water as well as terrestrial species, GC-MS scanning. The study provides a consistent set of information on tanninassociated concentration-related trends and suggests novel criteria in defining control quality for evaluating environmental impact of leather tanning industry.