Toxic World Exposing Hundreds of Millions to Deadly Chemicals: Report

The rise of computers, advanced electronics and large-scale manufacturing systems have serious down sides that much of the developed world and the beneficiaries of those technologies have proven eager to ignore.

And on Monday, highlighting the ten worst places in the world for industrial pollution, a new report claims that more than 200 million people living in low- and middle-income countries are having their health dramatically impacted by their exposure to dangerous levels of toxic materials.

According to the report, produced by the U.S.-based Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross Switzerland in Europe, the new list of the top ten polluted places shows that a range of pollution sources and industrial contaminants—including hexavalent chromium from tanneries and heavy metals released from smelting operations—continue to plague populations already suffering from poverty and poor health systems.

“In this year’s report, we cite some of the most polluted places we’ve encountered. But it is important to point out that the problem is really much larger than these ten sites,” says Richard Fuller, president of Blacksmith Institute. “We estimate that the health of more than 200 million people is at risk from pollution in the developing world.”

As the report shows, the world’s ten most polluted places include:

The groups released a similar report in 2007 and though many of the same areas remained on their top ten list, they were joined by an unfortunate number of newly polluted areas that have succumbed to the perils of electronic manufacturing and the growing quantities of e-waste produced by the digital revolution.

As Agence France-Presse reports:

Read the full report, ,  here.

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