What are the most polluted places?
Time Magazine ranked the world's top 10 most polluted places. The list is as follows:
Lifen, China
This city is located next to the Fen River, and has three million residents. The air quality is almost unbearable that all most all residents have to go to the hospital for any respiratory conditions like black lung, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. The air is so polluted, that hanging laundry will turn black after only a few minutes.
Tianying, China
This city is an industrial city that is polluted with lead and other metals. As a result of poor policies and lack of advanced technology, lead has contaminated the water and soil because its seeped into the ground. This causes the residents of this area to have major health risks from lead on the brain such as dulness, forgetfulness, irritability, loss of memory, and hallucinations.
Sukinda, India
This city was named the third most polluted place because of its mining and processing of chrome and other heavy metals. 97% of India's chromium supply comes from Sukinda, which inevitably leaded to a thirty million ton pile of waste from mining that form mountains. There is also major pollution to the waters, which are said to contain 60% chromium. This pits 2.6 million residents at risk of health issues such as breathing problems like cough, asthma, and wheezing. Chromium related illnesses have caused 85% of deaths in the region.
Vapi, India
This city's waters and lands are contaminated with harmful chemicals and metals. The groundwater contains 96 times more mercury than the World Health Organization considers safe. Too long of an exposure to mercury can hurt one's health like the impairment of peripheral vision and muscle weakness. The mercury may also lace the waters causing neurological problems to children.
La Oroya, Peru
This city is host to many different processing plants and heavy metal mines. 99 out of 100 children in this city have above the accepted measurement of lead levels in their body, which leads to reading problems, learning problems, hearing loss, and stunted growth. There is also not a plan for how to clean up all the waste they have created.
Dzerzhinsk, Russia
This city has a very low average life expectancy. The men usually die around 42, and the women usually die around 47. The death rate could be connected to all the toxic pollutants in the city. Over three hundred thousand tons of chemical waste were dumped on this city between 1930 and 1998. The Guinness Book of World Records named Dzerzhinsk the most polluted city in the world in terms of chemical contamination. The Dioxin and phenol levels in the water are nineteen million times higher than the acceptable limit.
This city has a very low average life expectancy. The men usually die around 42, and the women usually die around 47. The death rate could be connected to all the toxic pollutants in the city. Over three hundred thousand tons of chemical waste were dumped on this city between 1930 and 1998. The Guinness Book of World Records named Dzerzhinsk the most polluted city in the world in terms of chemical contamination. The Dioxin and phenol levels in the water are nineteen million times higher than the acceptable limit.
Norilsk, Russia
This city is where the biggest heavy metal smelting complex in the world is located. Four million tons of zinc, arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, nickel and selenium are released into the air every year. Many residents have suffered from respiratory illnesses.
Chernobyl, Ukraine
This city was home to the meltdown of a nuclear plant that sent excessive amounts of radiation in the air caused the city to be inhabitable. Around five thousand people who were living there at the time ended up with thyroid cancer.
Sumgayit, Azerbaijan
This city is responsible for 120,000 ton of toxic emissions that continue to affect the city. There used to be lots of petrochemical industrial complexes, and have recently been shut down. This pollution has caused many health problems for the residents there.
Kabwe, Zambia
This city was first aware of their issue of lead in 1902. Although mines and smelters are not active anymore, there is still large amounts of lead and cadmium remaining.
If kids intake high enough levels of lead could be fatal, or cause serious health issues. They have lead and cadmium levels five to ten times higher than the normal amount.
(All the pictures above are from: http://opishposh.com/most-polluted-cities-in-the-world/)