SA-The toxic top 10:
- Mercury pollution from gold mining (3.5 million people)
- Lead pollution from industrial parks (nearly 3 million)
- Pesticides from agriculture (more than 2.2. million)
- Lead smelting (just under 2 million)
- Chromium pollution from leather tanning (more than 1.8 million)
- Mercury residue from other mining (more than 1.5 million)
- Lead pollution from mining (more than 1.2 million)
- Lead pollution from improper battery recycling (nearly one million)
- Arsenic in groundwater (at least 750,000)
- Pesticide manufacturing and storage (more than 700,000).
Notably, groundwater arsenic is the only naturally occurring pollution problem—and it is in ninth place. Put together, arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury and pesticides are the leading causes of such toxic hot spots largely created by mining, metal smelting, chemical manufacture, agriculture, heavy industry, tanneries and waste disposal, among other activities.
View a slide show of the world's worst toxic pollution problems
The list derives from Blacksmith's survey of more than 2,000 toxic sites in 47 different countries in the developing world. The researchers then ranked the sites and problems by "disability life-adjusted year," or DALY, which measures both early death and the impact of pollution-related disease. In essence, one DALY equals "one year of 'healthy' life lost," the researchers wrote in the report released on November 9.
