Health and Science > Environment and Nature > Environment

Top Ten Most Polluted Places in the World, 2009

This Top Ten list was compiled by the Technical Advisory Board of the Blacksmith Institute, an environmental NGO based in New York. The criteria used in ranking include the size of the affected population, the severity of the toxins involved, and reliable evidence of health problems associated with the pollution.

CountryProblemMain Pollutant ExposurePathway
Accra, GhanaIndoor Air PollutionParticulates, CO2Inhalation
Candelaria, ChileMine Tailings Disposal/Water PollutionHeavy metals such as cyanideIngestion of contaminated groundwater
Chernobyl-Affected Zone, Eastern EuropeRadiationRadioactive wasteIngestion
Delhi, IndiaAir PollutionCO2, SO2, ParticulatesInhalation
Haina, Domincan RepublicUsed Lead Acid Battery RecyclingLeadIngestion
Kalimantan IndonesiaArtisanal Gold MiningMercuryInhalation of airborne vapors
Old Korogwe, TanzaniaContaminated Surface WaterDDTIngestion
Rudnaya River Valley, RussiaMetals Processing and MiningLeadIngestion
Shanghai, ChinaUntreated SewageWater-borne pathogens Ingestion
West Bengal, IndiaGround-water PollutionArsenicIngestion
Source: the Blacksmith Institute, 2009. Web: http://www.worstpolluted.org/ .

Information Please® Database, © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Safe Drinking Water Reports and Hotline Environment User's Guide to Environmental Language