Projects

The Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) is Pure Earth’s flagship global initiative for identifying and assessing contaminated sites across low- and middle-income countries where public health is at risk. Local TSIP investigators trained by Pure Earth visit and document sites using the Initial Site Screening (ISS) protocol. The data is then reviewed and entered into Pure Earth’s TSIP database of polluted sites, which helps governments understand, prioritize, and address pollution in their countries. 

TSIP in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces growing environmental contamination driven by rapid industrialization, informal recycling, unregulated waste disposal, and legacy pollution from hazardous industries. Lead contamination remains one of the country’s most pressing environmental health challenges, with hotspots linked to informal used lead-acid battery (ULAB) recycling, metal processing, and other small-scale industries. These toxic pollutants degrade ecosystems and agricultural land while posing serious health risks, particularly to children and other vulnerable communities.

The TSIP was introduced globally in 2019 as a risk-based methodology to systematically address the contamination sites. The TSIP in Bangladesh began in 2011, marking the first national effort to build an inventory of contaminated locations. Since then, several phases of the Program funded by different development partners have been completed. While some of these phases looked at a broad spectrum of chemical contaminants, more recent phases have focused specifically on lead contamination.

Bangladesh faces significant challenges from lead. Childhood lead poisoning is believed to be widespread in Bangladesh and prevents exposed children from reaching their full intellectual potential. Much of the lead that contaminates sites in Bangladesh is believed to be released during the informal manufacturing and recycling of lead-acid batteries. To better understand the full impacts of this informal industry, Pure Earth has focused its TSIP program on this particular source, aiming to develop sufficient data and understanding to contribute meaningfully to a national solution.

Toxic Sites in Bangladesh

In the spring of 2020, Pure Earth implemented a new phase of the Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) in Bangladesh funded by the Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PMEH) Program of the World Bank Group.

The program consisted of on-site screening assessments at 56 sites suspected of chemical contamination of soil or water in the administrative divisions of Chittagong, Rangpur, and Dhaka. Assessments focused on industrial sources of contamination, including gold recycling; tannery operations; textile and dye operations; product manufacturing; chemical manufacturing; lead-acid battery manufacturing and repair; shipbreaking and repair; brick-making kilns; e-waste recycling; paper mills; mining and ore processing; and metal recycling.

As of 2025, more than 350 sites have been screened under TSIP in Bangladesh. Among them, 290 sites have been confirmed as contaminated with lead, including 260 associated with lead-acid battery manufacturing, recycling, smelting, and repair. The data from these assessments are held in a publicly accessible database at www.contaminatedsites.org.

The geographic distribution of identified sites reveals concentration patterns in several high-density industrial districts. For example: 

• Dhaka – 54 identified sites 
• Tangail – 37 
• Chattogram – 23 
• Narayanganj – 22 
• Khulna – 21 
• Gazipur – 20 
• Gaibandha – 19 
• Mymensingh – 17
• Pabna – 16
• Bogura -15

The distribution of contaminated sites reflects the widespread presence of legacy and ongoing lead-related activities in both urban and semi-urban areas across Bangladesh.