Posted on 10/19/2006 3:41:08 PM PDT by blam
World's pollution hotspots mapped
Living on lead
A US-based environmental charity has documented what it calls the 10 most polluted places on the planet.
The Blacksmith Institute says three of the hotspots are in Russia, with the remainder dotted in various countries.
Heavy metals such as lead are the main sources of pollution, with 10 million people affected across the locations.
The institute surveyed scientists and environmental bodies across the world to compile its list, and is running clean-up projects in some of the sites.
The charity has focused largely on locations where people are affected by the pollution.
"A particular concern of all these cases is the accumulating and long lasting burden building up in the environment and in the bodies of the people most directly affected," said the institute's director Richard Fuller.
Ulcers on this child are probably caused by pollutants
"There are places where life expectancy approaches medieval rates, where birth defects are the norm not the exception, where children's asthma rates are measured above 90%, and where mental retardation is endemic," the report says.
"In countries where life expectancies may be half that of the richest nations, the unfortunates in these areas do not even survive that long or if they do, it is in suffering."
Research by UN agencies suggests about 20% of premature deaths worldwide may be attributable to environmental factors.
Urgency needed
Chernobyl, site of the best known industrial accident in recent years, is on the list; but the remainder would be largely unknown to the uninitiated.
They include:
* Dzerzhinsk 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
"The most important thing is to achieve some practical progress in dealing with these polluted places," said Dave Hanrahan, Blacksmith Institute's chief of global operations.
Dzerzinsk, once a major site of chemical weapons manufacture
"There is a lot of good work being done in understanding the problems and in identifying possible approaches.
"Our goal is to instil a sense of urgency about tackling these priority sites."
The institute is involved in starting remediation programmes in about half of the 10 sites, and hopes to stimulate action in the others.
In some cases, remediation means installing new plant such as water purifiers.
In others, the top priority is to educate people, particularly children, so they avoid heavily contaminated sites.
Beyond the top 10, there are a further 25 sites around the world requiring swift action, the institute believes.
What no American cities on the list..We can't have this, the moonbats will be up in arms. /sarcasm
Bin Laddie's not too worried, I bet.
How did "DC" miss being on the list?
but...but LA..and..and
good thing russia got those kyoto credits for being such a non polluter.
Not surprisingly the developed countries don't pollute as much as some developing countries. Of course the Dim solution will keep the developing countries poor and polluting, but they mean well.
That's why they took the story to the BBC - too 'sensitive' to take to the American media. Or, maybe none of the media folks were interested here...
Send Algore to clean it up.
None in the US or Europe?
I had been told our exploitation of earth was the root of all evil, including environmental destruction.
Near as I can tell, most of the environmental hotspots are in former/current communist/socialist lands.
So who are the better stewards of God's creation?
Imagine that, Chernobyl is on the list....
Liberals continue to make me sick.
Truth be told, almost every Communist country was, and often still is, a cesspool.
China alone could have 50 major sites, including entire river ecosystems.
Eastern Europe and many former Soviet states have areas that are basically unhealthy to live in.
The western world has its share of problems, but we choose to spend our money (mostly private) to clean up our own messes.
Socialists are always looking for a hand out. As long as the money keeps flowing you can bet that there will not be a lasting solution, which would turn off the spigot of cash.
The full list of 35 hot spots can be found here:
http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/top10/worst35d.html
New Orleans made the initial list, as did Hanford WA. Several European sites made it, all Eastern European or FSU.
Please note that anyone can submit a location on the list, but with there seem to be a number of watermelons on the advisory board. Lots of Yalies and the like.
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