US EPA

4454031 

Journal Article 

A comprehensive study including monitoring, assessment of health effects and development of a remediation method for chromium pollution 

Yoshinaga, M; Ninomiya, H; Al Hossain, MMA; Sudo, M; Akhand, AA; Ahsan, N; Alim, MA; Khalequzzaman, M; Iida, M; Yajima, I; Ohgami, N; Kato, M 

2018 

Yes 

Chemosphere
ISSN: 0045-6535
EISSN: 1879-1298 

201 

667-675 

English 

29547855 

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.026 

WOS:000430895300074 

Chromium (Cr) pollution caused by wastewater from tanneries is a worldwide environmental problem. To develop a countermeasure, we performed a comprehensive study using Hazaribagh, the tannery area in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, as a model. Our environmental monitoring indicated that the soluble form of Cr, but not barium or arsenic, in Buriganga River is derived from Hazaribagh. Our chemical analysis next showed that Cr, the primary pollutant in canal water at Hazaribagh, consisted of ≤0.7 μM hexavalent Cr [Cr(VI)] and ≤1705 μM trivalent Cr [Cr(III)]. Our biological study then showed that coexposure to Cr(VI) and Cr(III) at possible ratios in canal water at Hazaribagh synergistically promotes transforming activity of human non-tumorigenic HaCaT keratinocytes with activated MEK/ERK and AKT. Our environmental engineering study finally indicated that a magnesium and iron-based hydrotalcite-like compound (MF-HT), our original depurative, can maximally adsorb 9.0 mg/g Cr(VI) and 1041 mg/g Cr(III). Our results suggested the importance of removal of Cr(III) as well as Cr(VI) by showing that Cr(III), which is generally recognized as a chemical with low toxicity, synergistically promoted carcinogenicity of a low level of Cr(VI). Therefore, we propose the use of our original high-efficient and low-cost depurative as a countermeasure to address the worldwide problem of environmental Cr pollution. 

Water pollution; Carcinogenic toxicity; Chromium; Depurative; Tannery waste