The World's Worst Polluted Places

Decades of effort and attention have reduced industrial pollution to no more than an occasional worry for most of the developed world. However, this is certainly not the case in the poorest countries where pollution continues to be a major cause of death, illness, and long-term environmental damage.

In these parts of the world, pollution shortens lives, damages children's development and growth, causes chronic illnesses, and kills thousands of people indiscriminately. The major polluting industries are concentrated in special estates or industrial cities. These are locations where soils and groundwater have been poisoned, where rivers are saturated with toxins, and radioactive lakes cannot be approached safely.

Read the complete report (pdf document).