Full List 2006

ANKLESHWAR, INDIA
ARJO, ETHIOPIA
BAIA MARE, ROMANIA
BAIE DE HANNE, SENEGAL
BHOPAL, INDIA
CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE
COPSA MICA, ROMANIA
CUBATAO, BRAZIL
DZERZINSK, RUSSIA
HAINA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
HANFORD, UNITED STATES
HUAI RIVER, CHINA
KABWE, ZAMBIA
KANPUR, INDIA
KOLA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
KOMI, RUSSIA
LA OROYA, PERU
LINFEN, SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA
MAGNITOGORSK, RUSSIA
MAILUU-SUU, KYRGYZSTAN
MARILAO, PHILIPPINES
MAYAK and Lake Karachay, CHELYABINSK Russia
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
MT. DIWALWAL, PHILIPPINES
NEW ORLEANS, UNITED STATES
NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA
NORILSK, RUSSIA
OMAI , GUYANA
PICNIC GARDENS, KOLKATA, INDIA
RANIPET, INDIA
RUDNAYA PRISTAN/DALNEGORSK, RUSSIA
SPOLANA, CZECH REPUBLIC
SUMGAYIT, AZERBAIJAN
VAPI, INDIA
VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA

DZERZINSK, RUSSIA

Potentially affected people: 300,000

Dzerzhinsk Factories

Type of pollutants: Chemicals and toxic byproducts from Cold War-era chemical weapons manufacturing, including Sarin, VX gas, lewisite - the poisonous effect of which is owed to its arsenic trioxide content, yperite (mustard gas), prussic acid, phosgene, dioxins and other persistent organic chemicals. Lead, from an additives manufacturer, now closed.

Site description: In Dzerzhinsk, a significant center of the Russian chemical manufacturing, the average life expectancy is 42 years for men and 47 for women. Until the end of the Cold War, the city was among Russia's principal production sites of chemical weapons. According to figures from Dzerzhinsk's environmental agency, from 1930-1998, almost 300,000 tons of chemical waste were improperly disposed of. Of this waste, around 190 separate chemicals were released into the groundwater. These chemicals have turned the water into a white sludge containing dioxins and high levels of phenol – an industrial chemical which can lead to acute poisoning and death. These levels are reportedly 17 million times the safe limit.

The city draws its drinking water from the same aquifers into which these old wastes and unused products were pumped. Now that many of these industries are no longer in operation, the local groundwater has risen, along with the water level in the canal.  This rise in the canal's water level threatens to dump arsenic, mercury, lead and dioxins into the Oka river basin, a source of drinking water for the nearby city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Despite the heavy toll on the population’s health, a quarter of the city's 300,000 residents are still employed in factories that turn out toxic chemicals. According to a 2003 BBC report it is the young who are most vulnerable. In the local cemetery, there are a shocking number of graves of people below the age of 40. In 2003 it was reported that the death rate exceeded the birth rate by 2.6 times and it is easy to see why. The dioxins that get into the water as a by-product of chlorine production are reported to cause cancer even in minute doses.

Cleanup Activity: Following the support of a baseline research project in the area in 2004, Blacksmith, in cooperation with the local government, has funded the installation of water treatment systems in Pyra (population 4,000), and Gavirolvka, settlements whose groundwater is highly polluted, yet remains the sole source of drinking water.  In addition, Blacksmith has funded the establishment of a steering committee led by a local NGO (DRONT) in cooperation with the Nizhniy Novgorod municipal government, to begin the design of a large-scale remediation and pollution mitigation plan for the entire affected area.

In 2004 the local government conducted an initial evaluation of the extent of the groundwater contamination in the city and reviewed subsequent engineering options to bring clean water in to Dzerzhinsk to replace use of the contaminated groundwater source in Gavrilovka and Pyra, two areas of the city

INFORMATION

* Dzerzhinsk Chemical Plant Workers Call for Better Pensions : FBIS-TAC-97-119 : 29 Apr 1997

* Russian Chemical Weapons Sites Undergo Foreign Inspection : FBIS-TAC-98-068 : 9 Mar 1998

M R. Edelstein. “EMPOWERING RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN NGOs TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY” FINAL PROJECT REPORT. Ramapo College of New Jersey

(2005) http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/edelsteinempoweringngos.html

“Dzerzhinksk” Global Security Organization.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/dzerzhinsk_cbw.htm

Tim Samuals, “Russia’s Deadly Factories.” BBC News. March 7, 2003.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent/2821835.stm

LINFEN, SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA

Potential population affected: 200,000

Type of pollutants: Fly-ash, carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides, PM-2.5, PM-10, Sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, arsenic, lead.

Site Description : When asked to comment on the environmental conditions of Linfen, one environmental expert quipped, “If you have a grudge against someone, let this guy become a permanent citizen of Linfen! Why? For punishment!" Shanxi Province is considered to be the heart of China’s enormous and expanding coal industry, providing about two thirds of the nation’s energy. Within it, Linfen has been identified as one of Shanxi’s most polluted cities with residents claiming that they literally choke on coal dust in the evenings, according to a BBC report.

China’s urgent need for coal has led to the development of hundreds of often illegal and unregulated coal mines, steel factories and tar refineries which have diverted water and parched the land making farming in the province nearly impossible. Water is so tightly rationed that even the provincial capital receives water for only a few hours each day.

The Annual Report on Environmental Management and Comprehensive Improvement in Key Cities for Environmental Protection in 2003, by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), indicated that Linfen is the city with the worst air quality in China. The high levels of pollution are taking a serious toll on the health of the Linfen’s inhabitants. Local clinics are seeing growing cases of bronchitis, pneumonia, and lung cancer. Lead poisoning was also seen at very high rates in Chinese children in the Shanxi Province. One resident was quoted in the BBC report claiming, "I feel like my throat is very dry, and the stuff coming out of my lungs is black.” The severity of the air pollution in the cities of Shanxi is indicated by the fact that the levels of SO₂ and other particulates in the air exceed many times over the standards set by the World Health Organization. A growing number of resident deaths in recent years have been directly linked to this intense pollution.

Another epidemic found in this province is Arsenicosis, an environmental chemical disease caused by drinking elevated concentrations of arsenic found in water. Chronic exposure to this toxic chemical result in skin lesions, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, blackfoot disease, and high risk of cancers. One study of Shanxi’s well water published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, found the rate of unsafe well water in the province to be 52% -- an alarming statistic. Worrying data such as this has caused the Chinese government to openly admit that one in five of its citizens lack safe drinking water.

Compounding the pollution problem is the city’s economic dependence on the coal, steel, and tar industries as well as China’s need for these resources in keeping with its rapidly growing economy. As with many environmental problems in China, strong resistance from business interests and corrupt officials has made improvement difficult to imagine in a short timeframe.

Cleanup Activity: Information on progress towards cleanup in this area is not currently readily available.

Note: Linfen acts in the Top Ten as an example of highly polluted cities in China. In terms of air quality, the World Bank has been quoted as estimating that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world were in China.

INFORMATION

China Internet Information Center. “Rivers Run Black in Shanxi Province.” China Daily (2006) July 17, 2006. http://service.china.org.cn/link/wcm/Show_Text?info_id=174874&p_qry=Linfen

Qin Jize. “Most polluted cities in China blacklisted.” China Daily. (2004) July 15. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-07/15/content_348397.htm

“The Most Polluted City in the World: Sixteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China.” The Epoch times. (2006) June 10, 2006. (refers to air pollution and particulates) http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-6-10/42510.html

“Environmental quality stable in general: report.” People's Daily Online (2004) July 14, 2004. http://english.people.com.cn/200407/14/eng20040714_149521.html

Y. F. Li, Y. J. Zhang, G. L. Cao. “Distribution of seasonal SO2 emissions from fuel combustion and industrial activities in the Shanxi province.” Atmospheric Environment (Oxford, England) (Jan. '99) 33 no2 p. 257

G. Sun. “Arsenic contamination and arsenicosis in China.” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. (2004) 198 268-271.

S-g Wang, J-l Zhang. “Blood lead levels of children in China”. Environmental Sciences and Pollution Mgmt. (2004) 21(6) 355-360.

Mary Kay Magistad “Land of Pollution.” The World. (2006) July 17, 2006. http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/4059

Kristin Aunan, Jinghua Fang, Haakon Vennemo, Kenneth Oye, Hans M. Seip. “Co-benefits of climate policy-lessons learned from a study in Shanxi, China.” Energy Policy. (2004) 32(4) 567-581

KABWE, ZAMBIA

Potentially affected people: 250,000

Type of pollutants: Lead, cadmium

Children Scavenging the Mine

Site description: Kabwe, the second largest city in Zambia is located about 150 kilometers north of the nation's capital, Lusaka. On average, children’s’ blood levels in Kabwe are 5 to 10 times the allowable EPA maximum. It is one of six towns situated around the Copperbelt, once Zambia's thriving industrial base. In 1902, rich deposits of lead were discovered here. Ore veins with lead concentrations as high as 20 percent have been mined deep into the earth and a smelting operation was set up to process the ore. Rich deposits of sulphide ore consisted of silicates, oxides and carbonates of lead, which averaged 34% in lead concentration. Mining and smelting operations were running almost continuously up until 1994 without the government addressing the potential danger of lead. This smelting process was unregulated during this period and these smelters released heavy metals in dust particles, which settled on the ground in the surrounding area. The mine and smelter is no longer operating but has left a city poisoned from debilitating concentrations of lead in the soil and water from slag heaps that were left as reminders to the smelting and mining era. Some of the lead concentrations in soil have been recorded at 2400 mg/kg. In one study, the dispersal in soils of lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc extended to over a 20 km circumference from the smelting and mining processes. The soil contamination levels of all four metals are higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization.

Sick Mine Scavenger

In the U.S., permissible blood levels of lead are less than10 mcg/dl. Symptoms of acute poisoning occur at blood levels of 20 and above, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, and leading to muscle spasms and kidney damage. Levels of over ten are considered unhealthy and levels in excess of 120 can often lead to death. In some neighborhoods in Kabwe, blood concentrations of 200 or more micrograms/deciliter have been recorded in children and records show average blood levels of children range between 50 and 100 mcg/dl. Children who play in the soil and young men who scavenge the mines for scraps of metal are most susceptible to lead produced by the mine and smelter. A small waterway runs from the mine to the center of town and had been used to carry waste from the once active smelter. There is no restriction to the waterway, and in some instances local children use it for bathing. In addition to water, dry and dusty backyards of workers' houses are a significant source of contamination for the locals. One of the most common ways that workers and residents become exposed to toxic levels of lead is through inhalation of contaminated soil ingested into the lungs.

Cleanup Activity: After decades of contamination, the clean-up strategy for Kabwe is complex and in its primary stages. The first step is to educate the community about the risks of lead poisoning and their susceptibility to the pollutant. Precautionary measures have been taken in order to educate the population about the problem and to provide simple, concrete advice to avoid poison (such as to prohibit children from playing in the dirt and to rinse dust from plates and food etc.). Some areas of Kabwe require drastic remediation in which some entire neighborhoods may need to relocate.

Blacksmith has helped Kabwe's environment by establishing a local NGO, Kabwe Environmental and Rehabilitation Foundation (KERF) whose role is to bring educational services into each community with nursing support and expertise to locals as well. As a result of Blacksmith's local initiatives and involvement, the World Bank has stepped in. The Bank approved a $20 million grant to clean up the city and has just completed the scoping study that will lead to initial clean-up activity beginning in 2007.

INFORMATION

“The Silent Death Lead Poisoning in Kabwe, Zambia” Blacksmith Institute. 2001. http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/kabwe.shtml

Penny Dale. “Zambia’s child poisoning tragedy” BBC, Nov. 6, 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3241037.stm

B. Leteinturier, J. Laroche, J. Matera, and F. Malaisse. “Reclamation of lead/zinc processing wastes at Kabwe, Zambia: a phytogeochemical approach.” South Africaln Journal of Science 97 Nov/Dec (2001) 624-627.

B. D. Tembo, K Sichilongo, J. Cernak. “Distribution of copper, lead, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in soils around Kabwe town in Zambia.” Chemosphere (2006) 63 497-501.

NORILSK, RUSSIA

Potentially affected people: 134,000

Type of pollutants: Air pollution – particulates including Strontium-90, Caesium-137, Sulfur dioxide, heavy metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, selenium), particulates, nitrogen and carbon oxides, phenols, hydrogen sulfide.

Site description: An industrial city founded in 1935 as a slave labor camp, the Siberian city of Norilsk, Russia is the northernmost major city of Russia and the second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arctic Circle. According to the Mines and Communities website the city is considered one of the most polluted places in Russia - where the snow is black, the air tastes of sulfur and the life expectancy for factory workers is 10 years below the Russian average. This city houses the world’s largest heavy metals smelting complex, and over 4 million tons annually of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, arsenic, selenium and zinc are dispersed into the air. Mining and smelting operation started in the 1930s, and is the worlds largest nickel producer. Norilsk Nickel, a recently privatized firm, is one of Russia's leading producers of non-ferrous and platinum-group metals. It controls one-third of the world's nickel deposits and accounts for a substantial portion of the country's total production of nickel, cobalt, platinum, and palladium. It is also a major polluter, ranking first among Russian industrial enterprises in terms of air pollution.

Due to the geographic location, reports on ecological impacts and contamination are infrequent from this location. In 1999, a report found elevated copper and nickel concentrations in soils up to a 60 km radius. The city population has been affected by air quality in this region of smelters, where it has been shown over half of all samples exceed the maximum allowable concentrations for both copper and nickel. A report in 1995 indicated that high levels of respiratory diseases have been observed in children around this area, and that these are most likely related to the air pollution from the smelter activity. Investigations evaluating the presence of ear, nose and throat disease among schoolchildren revealed that children living near the copper plant were twice as likely to become ill than those living in further districts. Similarly, children living near the nickel plant were shown to become ill at a rate 1.5 times higher than children from further districts. Analysis also showed that problems during the last half of pregnancy as well as premature births were much more frequent in Norilsk than in the Taimyr and Kransnoyark regions. Furthermore, mortality from respiratory diseases is considerably higher than the average in Russia, which is 28/1000 or 15.8% of all deaths among children.

Since November 2001, Norilsk has been shut to foreigners, one of 90 "closed towns" in Russia where Soviet-levels of secrecy persist.

Cleanup Activity

Many groups, some supported by international donors, have tried to address the problems. In the 1980’s emission reductions were tried by building dust and gas removal facilities, and also electrostatic precipitators and liquid phase sulfur removals. These technologies aided in sulfate reduction, but studies proved that damage to forests and concentrations of metals remained a significant problem to date.

INFORMATION

S. M. Allen-Gil, J. Ford, B. K. Lasorsa, M. Monetti, et al. “Heavy metal contamination in the Taimyr Peninsula, Siberian Arctic”. The Science of the Total Environment 301 (2003) 119-138.

J. M. Blais, K. E. Duff, T.E. Laing, J.P. Smol. “Regional contamination in lakes from the Noril’sk region in Siberia, Russia”. Water Air Soil Pollut. (1999) 110 (3-4) 389-404.

O.N. Zubareva, L. N. Skripal’shchikova, N. V. Greshilova, and V. I. Kharuk. “Zoning of landscapes exposed to technogenic emissions from the Norilsk Mining and Smeltering works”. Russian Journal of Ecology (2003) 34 (6) 375-380.

B. A. Revich. “Public health and ambient air pollution in Arctic and Subarctic cities of Russia”. The Science of the Total Environment. (1995). 160/161 585-592.

Mines And Communities Website. “Hell on Earth.” April 18, 2003. http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press139.htm

HAINA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Potentially affected people: 85,000

Type of pollutants: Lead.

Site description: This highly populated area known as Bajos de Haina is severely contaminated with lead from a closed down automobile battery recycling smelter. The Dominican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, since its creation in 2000, has identified Haina as a national hotspot of significant concern.   Various studies have found alarming lead levels in the Haina community, with blood and soil levels several orders of magnitude over regular limits. The contamination is caused by the past industrial operations of the nearby Metaloxa battery plant. Although the company has moved to a new site (which is contaminating a new neighborhood, albeit less populous), the contamination still remains.

Child standing on battery casing

The most common symptom of Haina’s pollution is lead poisoning, which affects children's health and development. Kaul tested children near the auto battery recycling plant in Haina. When the plant closed in March 1997, 116 children were surveyed, and again in August 1997, 146 children were surveyed. Mean blood lead concentrations were 71 µg/dL (range: 9–234 µg/dL) in March and 32 µg/dL (range: 6–130 µg/dL) in August. The study revealed that at least 28% of the children required immediate treatment and that 5% had lead levels >79 µg/dL. Only 9% of these children were under the WHO recommended 9 µg/dL for maximum concentration. The children were also at risk for severe neurologic consequences at the time of the study.

Another study released by the Chemical Institute of Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) found lead levels in inhabitants over 100 parts per million (ppm), whereas "normal" levels in children are considered to be 10 ppm and for adults 20 ppm. Birth deformities, eye damage, learning and personality disorders, and in some cases, death from lead poisoning have also been reported at a higher than normal rate due to contamination caused by the past operations of the battery plant.

Cleanup Activity: In early planning stages, with Blacksmith Institute advice and support.

INFORMATION

Note: This site is included in the Top Ten as an example of lead battery re-processing facilities. These factories can be found in many major third world cities, and often leave a legacy of lead poisoning in their host communities. Haina is the most severely polluted site of this kind known to Blacksmith Institute.

J. Caravanos, R. Fuller. “Polluted Places—Initial Site Assessment”. Blacksmith Institute. (2006) February 22. http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/docs/haina1.doc

B. Kaul, R. S. Sandhu, C Depratt, and F Reyes. “Follow-up screening of lead-poisoned children near an auto battery recycling plant, Haina, Dominican Republic”. Environmental Health Perspectives. (1999). 107 (11)

“Industrial Waste Minimization in the low Haina River Basin”

IWCAM/2nd%20Steering%20Cmttee%20Meeting/Dominican%20Republic%20Demo%20Submission%20040130.doc

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE

Potentially affected people: Initially 5.5 million, now disputed levels of effect.

Type of pollutants: Uranium, Plutonium, Radioactive Iodine, Cesium-137, Strontium, and other metals

Site description: The world's worst nuclear disaster took place on April 26, 1986, when testing in the Chernobyl power plant, 62 miles north of Kiev, triggered a fiery melt-down of the reactor's core. Thirty people were killed in the accident, 135,000 evacuated, and one hundred times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was released. To this day, the 19-mile exclusion zone around the plant remains uninhabitable.

Within seven months, the reactor was buried in a concrete casing designed to absorb radiation and contain the remaining fuel. However, the sarcophagus was only meant to be a temporary solution and designed to last 20 or 30 years. A program to re-contain the site is underway.

One major reason for the concern is that though an enormous amount of radiation was released during the disaster, most of the radioactivity remained trapped within the plant itself. Some estimate that more than 100 tons of uranium and other radioactive products, such as plutonium, remain to be released if there is another accident. Chernobyl is also thought to contain some 2,000 tons of combustible materials. Leaks in the structure lead experts to fear that rainwater and fuel dust have formed a toxic liquid that may be contaminating the groundwater.

Thyroid cancer in children surrounding this area is a main health problem. Over 4000 thyroid cases had been diagnosed since 2002. Most of these cases have been attributed to elevated concentrations of radioiodine found in milk. It is hard to project lethal cancer rates and other health risks associated with this fallout. What is known is more than five million people currently inhabit the affected areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, which have all been classified as ‘contaminated’ with radionuclides due to the Chernobyl accident (above 37 kBq m^-2 of ¹³⁷Cs).

Furthermore, from 1992 to 2002 in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine more than 4000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed among those who were children and adolescents at the time of the accident, the age group 0-14 years being most affected.

A recent WHO report has indicated that the impact on future generations from radioactivity is now quite low. However this report has been met with skepticism from local and international experts.

Cleanup Activity

Expert groups such have carried out work on health impacts, remediation effects, and socioeconomic status of the region surrounding Chernobyl. Plans for the 19-mile exclusion zone to be recovered for restricted industrial uses remain but an appropriate environmental impact assessment needs to be finished. Also, implementation of an integrated radioactive waste management program to ensure consistent management and facility capacity needs to be assessed before further development. Costs for remedial action can only be estimated, and experts have predicted these at hundreds of billions of dollars. To date, the costs of the cleanup have placed significant financial burdens on Belarus, Russian Federation, and Ukraine.

Note: Given its resounding infamy, despite the subsequent progress that has been made at this site, we felt Chernobyl must be included in this Top Ten list due to its residual environmental impact as well as its potential to further affect such an extensive region and population.

INFORMATION

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. “Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts and recommendations to the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.” The Chernobyl Forum: 2003-2005. http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernobyl/chernobyl.pdf

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. “Environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident and their remediation: Twenty Years of Experience” Report of the Chernobyl Forum Expert Group ‘Environment’. (2006)

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1239_web.pdf

World Health Organization. “Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident and Special Health Care Programmes.” Report of the UN Chernobyl Forum Expert Group “Health”. (2006)

http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/WHO%20Report%20on%20Chernobyl%20Health%20Effects%20July%2006.pdf

LA OROYA, PERU

Potentially affected people: 35,000

Type of pollutants: Lead, copper, zinc, and sulfur dioxide.

La Oroya Smelter

Site description: Since 1922, adults and children in La Oroya, Peru - a mining town in the Peruvian Andes and the site of a poly-metallic smelter - have been exposed to the toxic emissions from the plant. Currently owned by the Missouri-based Doe Run Corporation, the plant is largely responsible for the dangerously high blood lead levels found in the children of this community. Ninety-nine percent of children living in and around La Oroya have blood lead levels that exceed acceptable amounts, according to studies carried out by the Director General of Environmental Health in Peru in 1999. Lead poisoning is known to be particularly harmful to the mental development of children. A survey conducted by the Peruvian Ministry of Health in 1999 revealed blood lead levels among local children to be dangerously high, averaging 33.6 micrograms/deciliter for children between the ages 6 months to ten years, triple the WHO limit of 10 micrograms/deciliter.

Sulfur dioxide concentrations also exceed the World Health Organization emissions standards by ten fold. The vegetation in the surrounding area has been destroyed by acid rain due to high sulfur dioxide emissions. To date, the extent of soil contamination has not been studied and no plan for reduction of emissions has been agreed or implemented.

Numerous studies have been carried out to assess the levels and sources of lead and other metals still being deposited in La Oroya. Limited testing has revealed lead, arsenic and cadmium soil contamination throughout the town. However, all of these studies were focused on outdoor contamination and suspected severe indoor air pollution has not yet been assessed in detail..

Cleanup Activity

Peru's Clean Air Act cites La Oroya in a list of Peruvian towns suffering critical levels of air pollution, but action to clean up and curtail this pollution has been delayed for the 35,000 inhabitants. In 2004, Doe Run Corporation asked the government for a four year extension to the plants environmental management plan. A concerted NGO movement is now underway to pressure the company and the government to develop effective strategies for implementation of site remediation agreements and to provide health care for affected residents.

INFORMATION

“Development of an integrated intervention plan to reduce exposure to lead and other contaminants in the mining center of La Oroya, Peru”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Environmental Health/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services. (2005)

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Docs/la_oroya_report.pdf

“Crisis Deepens in La Oroya” Oxfam America. (2004) December 20.

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates/archive2004/news_update.2004-12-20.4019587716

RANIPET, INDIA

Potentially affected people: 3,500,000

Type of pollutants: Tannery waste, containing hexavalent chromium and azodyes

Site description: Ranipet is located about 100 miles upstream from Chennai, the fourth largest urban area in India. Although Ranipet is a medium sized town, its problems also pose a potential risk to the population of the nearby city of Vellore. A factory in Ranipet manufactures sodium chromate, chromium salts and basic chromium sulfate tanning powder used locally in the leather tanning process. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TN PCB) estimates that about 1,500,000 tons of solid wastes accumulated over two decades of plant operation are stacked in an open yard (three to five meters high and on 2 hectares of land) on the facility premises and contaminating the groundwater.

The contamination of the soil and groundwater with wastewater, as well as run off from solid wastes has affected the health, resources, and livelihood of thousands of people. In a residential colony about 1 kilometer from the factory. Three open wells, a dozen bore wells and about 25 public hand pumps have been abandoned due to high chromium levels in the water. Agricultural land about a kilometer from the factory has also been affected. There is widespread fear that if this pollution is left unchecked, the Palar basin, the main drinking water source in the region, could also be contaminated. Indian farmers who have the misfortune of cultivating this toxic land claim that the toxic waste from the nearby tanneries degrades the fertility of the land citing that “ invariably, only one in five crops does well.” Farmers also complain of the foul smells which emanate from the very water they use to irrigate their fields claiming that, “when we come in contact with the water we get ulcerations on our skins and it stings like an insect bite.”

Cleanup Activity: In 1996 the government shut down Tamil Nadu Chromates & Chemicals Limited (TCC), the factory responsible for an estimated 1.5 million tons of untreated chromate sludge. In May 2005 Blacksmith Institute visited this site. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board authorities have assigned the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to design and implement remediation plans to cleanup this site.

An effective solution to tackle the issue of chromate leaching from the legacy site would be to encapsulate the waste dumpsite to prevent further leaching and treating the subsurface soil of the channel-flows.

INFORMATION

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=Ne071605Tanneries_pollute.asp

“Polluted Places” Blacksmith Institute. http://www.pollutedplaces.org/region/south_asia/india/ranipet.shtml

“Polluted Places: India Initial site assessment and photos” . Asian Development Bank ADB (2006)

http://www.adb.org/Projects/PEP/ind.asp

RUDNAYA PRISTAN/DALNEGORSK, RUSSIA

Potentially affected people: 90,000

Type of pollutants: Lead, cadmium, mercury, antimony

Site description: Dalnegorsk and Rudnaya Pristan are two towns in the Russian Far East whose residents suffer from serious lead poisoning from an old smelter and the unsafe transport of lead concentrate from the local lead mining site. According to the most recent study, lead concentrations in residential gardens (476-4310 mg/kg, Gmean=1626 mg/kg) and in roadside soils (2020-22900 mg/kg, Gmean=4420 mg/kg) exceed USEPA guidance for remediation by orders of magnitude. These data suggest that drinking water, interior dust, and garden crops also likely contain dangerous levels of lead. Water discharged from the smelter averages 2900 m3/day with concentrations up to 100 kg of lead and 20 kg arsenic.

Limited initial testing has revealed that children's blood lead levels are 8 to 20 times the maximum allowable U.S. levels. Preliminary biokinetic estimates of mean blood levels suggest that preschool children are at significant risk of lead poisoning from soil/dust ingestion with levels predicted to average 13-27 microg/dl. Annual air emissions found 85 tons of particulate matter with lead and arsenic concentrations being 50 and 0.5 tons, respectively.

Since 1930 there has not been any attempt to address associated health concerns by either an educational or a technical environmental program. In fact, as Sharov points out, the residents of the area were simply left to deal with their health risk problems on their own and are largely unaware of the risks. Furthermore, some residents in Rudnaya use old casings of submarine batteries that were recycled by the smelter in order to collect precipitation for watering their gardens.

Cleanup Activity

The lead smelter has now been voluntarily shut down, after Blacksmith presented the owner with data on the health risks to children of lead contamination. In addition, children’s blood lead levels are being tested, and those with elevated levels are being treated with Blacksmith funding. This funding has also supported a program of education to all residents, and local education and testing through the community is ongoing. Next, a plan to remediate the worst of the contamination needs to be drawn up and implemented.

INFORMATION

M. C. Von Braun, I. H. von Lindern, N. K. Khristoforova, and et a. “Environmental lead contamination in the Rudnaya Pristan--Dalnegorsk mining and smelter district, Russian far East”. Environmental Research Section A (2002) 88, 164-173.

A. N. Kachur, V. S. Arzhanova, P. V. Yelpatyevsky, M. C. von Braun, and I.H. von Lindern. “Environmental conditions in the Rudnaya River watershed––a compilation of Soviet and post-Soviet era sampling around a lead smelter in the Russian Far East”. The Science of The Total Environment (2003) 303:1-2 171-185

P.O. Sharov, Lead Contamination of Environment in Rudnaya Pristan, Russia and associated Health Risks. Far Eastern Health Fund. Vladivostok Dalnauka, 2005.

MAILUU-SUU, KYRGYZSTAN

Potentially affected people: 23,000 immediate, millions potentially

Type of pollutants: Radioactive uranium mine tailings. Gamma radiation from the dumps measures in between 100-600 micro-roentgens per hour. Heavy metals, and cyanides.

Site description: There are twenty-three tailing dumps and thirteen waste rock dumps scattered throughout Mailuu-Suu, home to a former Soviet uranium plant. From 1946-1968 the plant produced and processed more than 10,000 metric tons of uranium ore, products which were eventually used to produce the Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb. What remains now are not atomic bombs, but 1.96 million cubic meters of radioactive mining waste that threatens the entire Ferghana valley, one of the most fertile and densely populated area in Central Asia.

Due to the high rates of seismic activity in the area, millions of people in Central Asia are potentially at risk from a failure of the waste containment. Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and mudflows, all have the potential to exacerbate problems associated with the location and mismanagement of these tailing piles. It is feared that a landslide could disturb one of the dumps and either expose radioactive material within the core of the enormous waste piles or push part of them into nearby rivers. This fear that was nearly realized in May of 2002 when a huge mudslide blocked the course of the Mailuu-Suu river and threatened to submerge another waste site. In April of this year the Obschestvenny Reiting newspaper reported that about 300,000 cubic meters of material fell into the Mailuu-Suu River near the uranium mine tailings, the result of yet another landslide. Events such as these could potentially contaminate water drunk by hundreds of thousands of people in the Ferghana Valley, shared by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The poor design and management of the waste areas also allows transfer of some material from these piles to surrounding areas by runoff. Research has found some groups getting very high doses of radon probably due to use of this runoff water in agricultural practices. Risk analyses have also been conducted to assess the radioactive contamination that could occur with more natural disasters, and have found these could lead to potential large-scale environmental contamination. A 1999 study conducted by the Institute of Oncology and Radioecology showed that twice as many residents suffered from some form of cancer than in the rest of the country.

Cleanup Activity: The World Bank has begun a project for Kyrgyzstan to “minimize the exposure of humans, livestock, and riverine flora and fauna to radionuclide associated with abandoned uranium mine tailings and waste rock dumps in the Mailuu-Suu area”. The project includes uranium mining wastes isolation and protection, improvement to the national system for disaster management, preparedness and response and the establishment of real-time monitoring and warning systems, seismic stations and sensors. The total cost of the project is 11.76 million U.S. dollars, of which 6.9 million dollars will be provided by the bank's International Development Association, an institution that gives aid to the world's poorest countries.

INFORMATION

IRIN News Org. “KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide close to Mailuu-Suu uranium dump”. UN Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2005) April 14. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46641&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN

IRIN News Org. “KYRGYZSTAN: Mailuu-Suu closely monitored following recent landslide.” UN Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2005) May.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46933&SelectRegion=Asia

Sarah MacGregor. “Finding a Solution for Uranium Waste in Kyrgyzstan.” OSCE. (2004) February 4. http://www.osce.org/item/181.html

Environment News Service (ENS). “Kyrgyz Republic Funded to Secure Uranium Waste Dumps” Mines and Communities Website. (2004). June 17. http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press375.htm

M. Kozlova. “Worries Fester over radioactive tailings”. Asia Water Wire.

http://www.asiawaterwire.net/node/74

“Safety of Uranium Dumps in Kirghizia Calls For Attention of International Community” Pravada (2003) April 21. http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2003/04/21/46158.html

Nurlan Djenchuraev. Current Environmental issues associated with mining wastes in Kyrgyzstan. Master of science. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University. (1999). http://enrin.grida.no/case_studies/nucFergana/kyrgyz_12.pdf

I. A. Vasiliev, D. S. Barber, V. M. Alekhina, et al. “Uranium levels in the Naryn and MAiluu-Suu rivers of Kyrgyz Republic”. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. (2005) 263 207-212.

H. Vandenhove, L. Sweeck, D. Mallants, et al. “Assessment of radiation exposure in the uranium mining and milling area of Mailuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan”. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (2006) 88 118-139.

Appendix 1: The Nominations that Did Not Make the Top Ten

Here are the 25 nominated sites that were included in the long list but not chosen for the Top Ten.

HUAI RIVER, CHINA

Potentially affected people: 165 million

Type of pollutants: industrial, agricultural and municipal pollutants

Site description: The Huai River basin covers 270,000 square km, and has become a significantly polluted waste outlet from industry, livestock, and rural and municipal sources. Basin water quality has deteriorated at an accelerating rate over the past twenty years, driven by sustained, rapid growth of industrial, agricultural and municipal pollutants. The Basin water control regime exacerbates pollution problems, because local governments close gates in the dry season to retain water for local supply. While the gates are closed they retain the pollutants in the return flows of irrigation, industrial and municipal waste water. When the first rains come, gate operators flush their sections of the river, but if done in too many tributaries at once, a surge of highly polluted water enters the main channel. Such a surge in 1994 resulted in massive fish kills, human illness, and the need to shut down municipal and industrial water intakes all along the river. China rates its waterways on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most toxic. SEPA has rated this water at 5. A recent Chinese newspaper report cited death rates a third above average and cancer rates twice the provincial average for one major Huai tributary in Henan province. Equally troubling data have been reported for the Fuyang area in Anhui province.

Through the 1990’s Huai River was known as the most polluted in China. According to the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), the total wastewater discharge increased 40% from 1980-1995. Health impacts seen are inflammation, swelling, and ulceration of the skin if there is water contact. Long-term exposure had high incidences in intestinal, pulmonary, and liver cancers. Mortality increased 60% in the 1990’s due to increase in waste.

Cleanup Activities

In 1995, the State Council set a goal to remediate the Huai River by the year 2000, but over 200 serious water pollution accidents have happened in the years of 1989-2004. The area needs to build wastewater treatment plants in 256 cities in order for the river to meet water quality standards. The Chinese government has started many environmental initiatives including urban wastewater treatment, industry readjustment, industry emission control, watershed management, and so forth. Total project cost is estimated to be about $100 million. A World Bank loan would cover an estimated $50 million of that cost, with the remainder financed by Anhui province, benefiting enterprises, and HRBC.

SEPA intended to clean up Huai River to meet Class III standard (drinking and fishing). In 2001 SEPA announced that it had reached the goal, and the Huai Basin Pollution Control plan was recorded as a great success. In 2003, many water quality stations recorded wet season concentrations as 84.4%, still class V or worse. Furthermore, in 2004, the Huai River suffered a considerably large pollution incident with severe flooding in the upper stream. The pollution stretched 150 km with heavy loss of fish and shrimp. Further technical assistance will be carried out March 2005-2006 thru SEPA.

B.Xuemei, S. Peijun. “Pollution Control in China’s Huai River Basin what lessons for sustainability?” Environment. (2006) 48 (7): 22.

“Technical Assistance to the People’s Republic of China for the evaluation of environmental policy and investment for water pollution control in the Huai River Basin and the Taihu Lake Basin” Asian Development Bank. TAR: PRC 38555. (2004) November.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/PRC/tar-prc-38555.pdf#search=%22water%20pollution%20administering%20works%20Huai%20basin%22

“Huai River Basin Pollution Control Project”. China Internet Information Center. (2002).

http://us.tom.com/english/2190.htm

KOLA PENINSULA, RUSSIA

Potentially affected people: 1.3 million

Type of pollutants: Radioactive and nuclear wastes

Site description: Kola Peninsula lies in far northwestern Russian Federation, between the Barents Sea and the White Sea. Administratively, it forms part of Murmansk oblast (region). The strategic importance of the peninsula led to the proliferation of military bases here during the Cold War. The major port of the region is Murmansk. During the Soviet period, Murmansk was a major submarine production center, and remains a chief naval headquarters in modern Russia. Currently there are 70 decommissioned nuclear submarines being moored in ports along the Kola Peninsula. Considered obsolete, damaged, or banned by strategic arms reductions treaties, these submarines have been largely abandoned after being stripped of their offensive armament. They are manned by skeleton crews and hold within their poorly maintained hulls a total of nearly 30 times the amount of nuclear fuel that was in Chernobyl Reactor Number Four when it exploded in 1986.

The Kola Peninsula as a whole suffered major ecological damage, mostly as a result of pollution from the military (particularly naval) production, as well as from industrial mining of apatite. There are currently about 250 nuclear reactors produced by the Soviet military on the peninsula, which are no longer in use but still generate radiation and leak radioactive waste.

Other investigations into the radiological doses in seafood surrounding the peninsula have linked the problems to nuclear weapons testing, nuclear reprocessing discharges and the Chernobyl accident.

Cleanup Activities: In 1999, the project direction shifted and became more focused as the Russian shipyard’s needs became better defined within the budgetary realities of the program. This shift inspired the creation of a Mobile Pretreatment Facility (MPF) to permit solid waste sorting, volume reduction and containerization at current storage locations on the Kola Peninsula prior to transfer to a central processing facility (CPF) for final treatment and disposal.

E Anbarasan, Rovaniemi. “Nuclear watch in the Far North”. UNESCO. http://www.unesco.org/courier/1998_11/uk/planete/txt1.htm

Review and Implementation of Technology for Solid Radioactive Waste Volume Reduction.

Govt Reports Announcements & Index (GRA&I), Issue 20, 2003

Annual rept.