Forbes’ top ten list is remarkable for many reasons. The first is that most of the dirtiest cities of the world are placed in developing or struggling nations such as Africa and Russia. The second is that many of the named cities are still labouring to rid themselves of environmental disasters incurred by Western interests or corporate factions in the name of the almighty dollar. The third is that the bulk of the world’s dirtiest cities just keep getting dirtier due to less than strategic plans for waste management, pollutant reduction and industrial regulations. Though residents of cleaner cities in the world may not realize it, the dirtiest cities affect everyone in the world by contributing to global warming, ozone deficiency and overall environmental health. In a global community, it is up to the fortunate to help those with less-whether it be food, money or clean living conditions.
The number one city on the list is the infamous Chernobyl, Ukraine, which was awarded the dubious honour for the seething radiation that still pervades the city’s soil after the nuclear reactor accident over 20 years ago. There is no limit to the laundry list of of Chernobyl’s pollutants: uranium, plutonium, radioactive iodine, cesium-137, strontium and other heavy or radioactive metals are still found in astromical levels in the 19-mile exclusion zone that has been cordoned off since the reactor went off. The amount of radiation leaked was 100 times the levels released in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chernobyl’s 135,000 citizens have been evacuated and relocated to an area outside of the reactor zone, which is far from clean by Western standards. Chernobyl has been on the top of the list of dirty cities since the accident and the pervasion of pollutants seems to indicate that it will remain there for years, if not decades, to come.
Second on the list is Dzerzinsk. Russia, which achieved prominence during the Cold War when it became a central spot for the manufacture and storage of chemical weapons. Unfortunately, these weapons were disposed of poorly and the toxic chemicals that leaked from them has resulted in tons of dangerous chemical waste infiltrating the ground water and the city’s water supply. In a population of over 300,000, the death rate in the city is over 2.6 times the birth rate.
Haina in the Dominican Republic nabs the third spot due to a former battery plant no longer in operation in the region. The plant caused high soil levels of lead in the entire region, which is negatively affecting the over 85, 000 citizens who live in the area.
The rest of the list includes: Kabwe, Zambia; La Oroyo, Peru; Linfen, China; Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan; Norlisk, Russia; Ranipet, India; and Rudnaya Pristan, Russia.
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