World’s pollution hotspots mapped

The BBC reports on a study conducted by an American charity that has compiled the ten most polluted places on the planet.  The Blacksmith Institute selected the sites based on the opinions of scientists and environmental bodies around the globe, primarily focusing on locations where people are being  directly affected by the pollution.

Some of the lesser know sites include:

• Dzerzinsk in Russia, a Cold War chemical weapons site
• Linfen, heart of China’s coal industry
• Kabwe in Zambia, site for mining and smelting of metals including lead
• Haina in the Dominican Republic, where battery recycling and smelting have left huge concentrations of lead in residents
• Ranipet in India, where more than 3m people are affected by tannery waste

BBC:
World’s pollution hotspots mapped