Top 10 Worst Polluted Places
Humans have done so much to destroy and pollute the environment. It’s quite outstanding. There seems to be no end to the manner in which we pollute whether it be from intensive farming, oil spills, mining, or manufacturing.
We have created problems involving radiation contamination, lead contamination, industrial air pollution, and the pollution of groundwater by heavy metals. There are many other examples.
This kind of contamination of our environment leads to many health problems such as cancers, birth defects, respiratory diseases, skin diseases, mental retardation, asthma, and poisoning. In some of the most polluted areas, life expectancy is often under 40 years of age.
The top 10 worst polluted places on earth according to the Blacksmith Institute are:
- Chernobyl, Ukraine - Pollution from uranium, plutonium, radioactive iodine, caesium-137, and strontium. 5.5 million people have been affected.
- Dzerzhinsk, Russia - Chemicals and toxic by products from chemical weapons manufacturing as well as lead contamination. 300,000 affected.
- Haina, Dominican Republic - Lead contamination. 85,000 affected.
- Kabwe, Zambia - Lead pollution.
- La Oroya, Peru - Lead, copper, zinc, and sulphur dioxide contamination. 35,000 people affected.
- Linfen, China - Fly-ash, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, arsenic, lead. 200,000 people affected.
- Maiuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan - Radioactive uranium mine tailings, gamma radiation, heavy metals, and cyanides. Potentially millions of people affected.
- Norilsk, Russia - Strontium-90, caesium-137, sulphur dioxide, heavy metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, selenium), particulates, nitrogen and carbon oxides, phenols, and hydrogen sulfphide. 134,000 affected.
- Ranipet, India - Hexavalent chromium and azodyes. 3.5 million affected.
- Rudnaya Pristan/Dalnegorsk, Russia - Lead, cadmium, mercury, and antimony contamination. 90,000 affected.
Australia obviously has its share of environmental problems but we are very lucky not to have anything as serious as these countries. It doesn’t mean something couldn’t happen here though, we have to be vigilant.
Although our problems are less severe we still need to work hard at improving our environmental record and solving problems such as soil degradation, air pollution in the major cities, and the pollution of waterways.
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