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World's 10 Most Polluted Places 2006
Make sure you include a respirator or some type of breathing mechanism on your packing list if heading to any of the destinations found on the Blacksmith Institute's World's Worst Polluted Places list. Keep in mind there will be no smelling of roses as you stroll the contaminated paths in Haina, Dominican Republic; Kabwe, Zambia; La Oroya, Peru; or Linfen, China. Instead, imagine whiffing the scents of sulfur dioxide, lead, Strontium-90, cobalt and Caesium-137. On a very serious note the list is very disheartening and if you take an opportunity to read site descriptions in full it gets even worse. Numbers of the potentially affected population are included as well as types of pollutants (some longer than most), site description and cleanup activity. If you're unable to connect with the dangers of what unusually high levels of any of the toxins noted can do -- the pictures make it quite real. I mean, we're talking some 3,500,000 people in Ranipet, India who could potentially be affected by disgusting, life-threatening toxins found in Tannery waste. This certainly won't be the kind of information you find in tourism brochures or places your might ever consider for a holiday unless you're into nuclear power plants, like Ukraine's ever-so-popular Chernobyl. Chernobyl travel has most certainly been done before, but I wouldn't recommend it. Then again, I'm just another sucker for fresh water and clean air.
via Gridskipper
Filed under: Activism, Stories, Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Zambia, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Dominican Republic
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Brian Wolff Oct 21st 2006 2:04AM
The infomation about Linfen is only partially accurate. It is true that in the eveings the air is quite dirty and unpleasant to breathe. Having lived here for two years I can remember 1 day where my throat seemd to "burn." The air is bad, though certainly not every day. It is much better in the summer, spring and fall. Also, Linfen sits in a bowl, largely unimpacted by winds which can clean the air. Perhaps other areas are bigger polluters but we don't know it because of the impact of winds. Winters seem to be much worse, though I think it is because many people still use low-grade coal for cooking and heating. It is hard to imagine any Linfen hospital or clinic reporting to anyone that there is an increase any pollution related illnesses. True or not, that is just not how things are done. However, anicdotally, it is very hard for me to get over a cold that I get in the winter time, the cause of which I cannot know. I hope Linfen gets itself cleaned up, but spreading false or unsupported information is now way to persuade a government to do that.
Adrienne Oct 23rd 2006 9:01AM
Brian,
Thanks for the words from the inside. From the report I wouldn't bother to go any of these places and even with your insiders view I'd have to say Linfen is still very off-limits for me. In any case I hope they get their act cleaned up along with several of the other places listed. Linfen probably isn't half as bad as some of the other destinations.
bob reeve Oct 25th 2006 2:40PM
I just returned from 10 days in China, visiting Shanghai, Hefei and Beijing, and I was shocked at the air quality. On about 1/2 of those 10 days I could not tell at what the position in the sky the sun was! My wife and I also noted that we could not see ANY birds in Shanghai. Not even pigeons.
Ohnoyoudidnt Oct 25th 2006 3:02PM
z0mfg no you guys do not have Peru in that list!
youre giving us an even worse stereotype than what we have now.
why must we focus on the negative sides of such a beaufiful country that has so much to offer when theres plenty of other positive aspects of it?
i heard a woman say once that Peru is even more beautiful than some countries in Europe, and thats saying a lot.
you guys are sick people and need to get out more often!
kthxbye
xhatex
Mary Oct 25th 2006 3:09PM
seriously, I grew up in the Dominican Republic not far from Haina. I can't believe u put that on the list as the top 10 most filthy places, cuz its surely not!!..u guyz are funny..u need to travel a bit more to make that final decision.Because ur wrong.
Courtney Oct 25th 2006 3:19PM
Well if all these natives from their countries, naturally, are going to defend their so called BEAUTIFUL countries, then why don't they start taking better care of them. Obviously they are not on the list for no reason, which means either the people are just comfortable being filthy or they really dont care ALL that much about the country.
chrissy Oct 25th 2006 3:19PM
This was an interesting article. I mean if it's true it's true get over it
Kim Oct 25th 2006 3:36PM
Relax, guys! Just because Peru and the Dominican are on the list, it doesn't mean that whoever wrote it has a personality dysfunction. A lot of places are polluted-- so stop spazzing about a little sum-up online and go do something about it!
tom christy Oct 25th 2006 3:36PM
Interesting comments from all parties. It's nice to see the united States of AMerica is not the sole culprit creating "atmospheric" problems....sensible people should look at the volcanoes, China, India, Russia as major contributors. Even Mexico is trying to clean things up! That's why the USA didn't sign the Kyoto Treaty--one of the few things Clinton did right!
Vivi Oct 25th 2006 3:40PM
Everyone on this planet should be more appreciative of their domain and do more for their community than they are doing. Every City one sees these days is gross with litter on the streets and sidewalks. There should be more restrictions or the people should learn to be more cognizant of the fact they are destroying the earth.
Merlin Bogwort Oct 25th 2006 3:43PM
As an expert on pollution, I live in a tyre recycling plant and breathe burning rubber daily, I feel slighted. Of course my eyes water incessantly, my lungs are as raw as fresh ground hamburger and my productive cough awakens distant relatives, still I love it here! Please include Tyre and Sidon Recycling on the Thames in one of your next tours of smokey destinations, we'll all be smiling. You can tell I'm smiling by the contrast of my pearly white teeth with my midnight black face, smudged and oily. thanks
Merlin Bogwort Oct 25th 2006 3:46PM
Is pollution concomitant with intellectual babbling and whining? What about rap music? Now there's a contaminant no amount of soap or recycling can correct.............
a concerned citizen Oct 25th 2006 3:52PM
The fact is....none of us really do anything much to improve our air quality. I couldn't breathe well in Russia (and the smell is unbearable) , but we also have a serious problem here in America to address. Our concrete plants give off toxins that have proven to cause cancer and breathing problems. I love America, but our own people want to place blame elsewhere when they need to check out their own doorsteps. If we don't begin to act more aggressivly, we could end up with bigger problems than addressed in this publication. Part of our problem here is that tax money talks and the issues of air quality are swept under the table.
Bill Oct 25th 2006 4:16PM
As an American that has lived in many countries, I can agree that filth can be measured in many ways. I have visited a number of the places you mentioned, and think that some of your choices were unfair. I do agree with you on Ranipet, India. You have some of your facts on location mixed up a bit, but when my wife and son almost died from food poisoning there, it was no joke.
Dani Oct 25th 2006 4:33PM
i can't beleave that you called democrats dirty if you got a problem then f**k you
Dani Oct 25th 2006 4:33PM
15.Republicans are the nastiest people on the planet.they suck monkey balls
Deborah Oct 25th 2006 4:33PM
(Some of) You guys--if you bothered to read the criteria, you'd see why the place is included on the list.
* The size of the affected population
* Severity of the toxin or toxins involved
* Impact of children's health and development
* Evidence of a clear pathway of contamination
* Existing and reliable evidence of health impact
So the combination of all of the above got the places listed. There is no where on this earth that man hasn't polluted from the north and south pole to Greenland, Northern Canadan or Patagonia and everywhere in between. It is scarey what we are doing to the world that are children will inherit. And if global warming comes true--then we may not have to worry, because there won't be a world for them to live in!
Rose Bannholzer Oct 25th 2006 4:36PM
People--I think some of our own cities would make that list. The beautiful city of San Francisco would certainly qualify. I have travelled on and off there for 40 years and sadly I see the filth and pollution spreading rapidly. In contrast, a city that I considered dirty 10 years ago is now pleasantly pristine. San Francisco is so much smaller and environmentally aware, one might think that the doorways reeking of urine and feces could be cleaned up because of the health hazards involved as well as the blight.
yayi Oct 25th 2006 5:01PM
Attention everyone:
Instead of arguing about whose contry is the nastiest, we should worry about doing something constructive to not only our contries but to the whole planet. We all are a big family created by GOD, so lets just work together and we will see how easy it gets. Remember we only live life once so lets enjoy the places that saw us born... THANK YOU!!!!
Liz Giglio Oct 25th 2006 5:09PM
My husband and I and many of our friends have been going to the Dominican Republic twice annually for vacation. For the past 13 Years!!! We are going again next week. Very nice hotels, great food and friendly people, all at affordable prices. Beats the Florida Beaches with their overpriced hotels and boring run of the mill very expensive food. The Dominican Republic is Third World and the people are poor. I've seen many homes in the rich USA which I would qualify as toxic waste sites. And whereever there are big manufacturing plants and garbage disposal facilities, the air here stinks too.