Top Ten Most Polluted Spots on Earth

Chernobyl in Ukraine is the best known on the list; Russia has the distinction of being home to three hotspots, while others are in China, the Dominican Republic, India, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, and Zambia. They include hubs of coal production, copper mining, and Cold War-era chemical weapons production. Most are far from capital cities or tourist areas, yet still home to a collective 10 million people who suffer dearly from the effects of toxic contamination.

"There are places where life expectancy approaches medieval rates, where birth defects are the norm not the exception, where children's asthma rates are measured above 90 percent, and where mental retardation is endemic," the report says.

"...Beyond the top 10, there are a further 25 sites around the world requiring swift action, the institute believes."

From the report, here is a description of one of the sites, in Linfen, Shanxi Province, China:

"Potential population affected: 200,000 Type of pollutants: Fly-ash, carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides, PM-2.5, PM-10, Sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, arsenic, lead.

Site Description: When asked to comment on the environmental conditions of Linfen, one environmental expert quipped, "If you have a grudge against someone, let this guy become a permanent citizen of Linfen! Why? For punishment!" Shanxi Province is considered to be the heart of China's enormous and expanding coal industry, providing about two thirds of the nation's energy. Within it, Linfen has been identified as one of Shanxi's most polluted cities with residents claiming that they literally choke on coal dust in the evenings, according to a BBC report."

From the press release:

"Blacksmith Institute's Worst-Polluted Places" report was compiled by a team of international environment and health experts, including faculty members from Johns Hopkins, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and City University of New York serving on Blacksmith Institute's Technical Advisory Board. They developed criteria to rate a list of 35 highly polluted sites derived from more than 300 that have been put forward to Blacksmith for support in clean-up. Nominations have come from local communities, non-government public-interest organizations (NGOs) as well as through discussions with a broad range of local, national and international environmental authorities.

The ten places on Blacksmith Institute's Worst-Polluted Places list for 2006 are (in alphabetical order by country):

* Linfen, China;

* Haina, Dominican Republic;

* Ranipet, India;

* Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan;

* La Oroya, Peru;

* Dzerzinsk, Russia;

* Norilsk, Russia;

* Rudnaya Pristan, Russia;

* Chernobyl, Ukraine; and

* Kabwe, Zambia.

Thanks to Grist Magazine