They may top the list of the world鈥檚 emerging economic powerhouses, but now China, India and Russia find themselves heading a rather less prestigious list: they are home to some of the most polluted sites on Earth.
On 12 September, the , a New York-based environment watchdog, released its annual list of the world鈥檚 most toxic places. Its purpose is to focus attention on pollution in the developing world, something 鈥渨idely unrepresented, not only in the press but also in the development community鈥�, says the institute鈥檚 Meredith Block.
The institute created a database of 400 polluted sites, many nominated by concerned citizens, NGOs and local governments. This list was pared down to a , which was then culled to a top ten. The key factors used to identify pollution hotspots were the toxicity and scale of pollution and the number of people at risk. Sites in China, India and Russia occupied six of the top 10 spots (see Map).
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For example, at Linfen in Shanxi province 鈥� the heart of China鈥檚 coal industry 鈥� industrial and automobile emissions put the health of 3 million people at risk. At Sukinda in the state of Orissa in India, 2.6 million people face the hazards of one of the world鈥檚 largest opencast chromite mines. And in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, 300,000 people are exposed to toxic by-products from chemical weapons.
The institute hopes that its list will spur governments and companies to clean up their act.
