Regarding our PerfectCity Charter we want to start a new topic: Environmental Conditions and Sustainability. The topic will be introduced by a study of global pollution.
In heavy polluted cities it not only the air that is a little dirtier – their inhabitants particularly children often suffer from serious and chronic diseases. Green Cross International and the US-American Backsmith Institute have published a list of the World’s Worst Polluted Places 2007.
In heavy polluted cities it not only the air that is a little dirtier – their inhabitants particularly children often suffer from serious and chronic diseases. Green Cross International and the US-American Backsmith Institute have published a list of the World’s Worst Polluted Places 2007.
The results show that China, India and Russia top the list of world’s most polluted cities. The three countries are each home to two of the world’s top 10 polluted cities, while the others are in Peru, Ukraine, Zambia and Azerbaijan. The report said an estimated 12 million people were affected by the severe pollution, which was mainly caused by chemical, metal and mining industries. Chronic illness and premature deaths were listed as possible side-effects.
The Blacksmith Institute, which produced the report on the “dirty 30” most polluted places on the planet, said it was not possible to rank the top 10 in order because of the different forms of pollution in each place and because they differed widely in their geography and population. David Hanrahan, director of global operations at Blacksmith said “All sites in the dirty 30 are very toxic and dangerous to human health.”
Mining was found to be the most frequent cause of pollution in the dirty 30 but metals extraction, petrochemicals and other industries were also to blame. The worst places for air pollution were Linfen, Lanzhou and Urumqi in China, Magnitogorsk in Russia and Mexico City. The worst site polluted by urban waste is the Dandora dump in Kenya. Chernobyl’s legacy of nuclear contamination put the region in the top 10, and Mailuu-Suu in Kyrgyzstan was also judged one of the worst polluted for its nuclear site.
Following to the Blacksmith Institute the world’s 10 worst polluted places are:
Map of the top ten polluted cities © Spiegel Online/Blacksmith Institute
The study found most of the polluted sites were far beyond the ability of local populations to clean up and that national government assistance or international aid would be needed. The study said: “Unfortunately there are too many of these industry towns still carrying on where there is no economic alternative for the local population.”
A way to clean up such sites could be to begin with supporting a core group of concerned people and officials to create a consensus and build momentum, starting with some simple but visible improvements to show that progress is possible.
What do you think about that? If anyone of you has ever been to a city in the list, please share your experiences with us.
What do you think about that? If anyone of you has ever been to a city in the list, please share your experiences with us.
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