Background: Extensive evidence of elevated chromium (Cr) in the surface and groundwater exists. However, the importance of exposure toward Cr-associated health risks in areas with tanneries is still often neglected. These situations prompted an independent research study to investigate the views of those close-knit communities who are being directly affected by this tannery village.
Objectives: To establish an understanding of the local demographics and; exploratory data analysis (EDA) to discover patterns in the occurrence of diseases; measure the awareness of residents of the presence of Cr and its harmful health effects.
Methods: The EDA technique was used to conduct survey studies on data to uncover patterns, identify anomalies, test hypotheses, and validate assumptions using summary statistics and graphical representations.
Results: Out of 14 diseases directly linked to high Cr toxicity, the study reported high levels of diarrhea, epigastric pain, and moderate-to-severe cases of vertigo among those aged more than 22 years. With over 90 active tanneries and toxic Cr released to the environment in a town of <78 km2 area (1.2 tannery/km), there are only 15 hospitals (0.2 hospitals/km) for the population currently accommodating more than a quarter-million people daily (3205 people/km).
Conclusion: New mitigation strategies must be put forth to alleviate the negative impacts of the tanneries on the residents and nature most affected as well as the population as a whole.
Keywords: Bioremediation; chromium; tannery; wastewater.