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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Sarah Johnson

Alarming levels of ‘forever chemicals’ found in water near Bangladesh garment factories

A boy salvages pieces of cloth from the liquid waste of the dyeing industries near Dhaka’s Turag river.
A boy salvages pieces of cloth from the liquid waste of the dyeing industries near Dhaka’s Turag river. Photograph: Probal Rashid/LightRocket/Getty Images

Rivers, lakes and tap water in areas of Bangladesh that host garment factories are swarming with dangerous levels of toxic “forever chemicals”, some with links to serious health issues, according to new research.

In the first study of its kind conducted in Bangladesh, a global fashion hub supplying international brands, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, were found in 27 water samples collected close to textile factories in the capital, Dhaka.

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