Ten 'most polluted places' named
Smoke and flames billowing from a Chinese steel plant
China's economic boom has caused pollution to soar
A list of the world's most polluted places has been published by a US-based independent environmental group.
The Blacksmith Institute's top 10 towns and cities included
sites in ex-Soviet republics, Russia, China and India. Peru and Zambia were also listed.
WORST POLLUTED
Linfen, China; Potentially 3m affected
Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Potentially 275,000 affected
Tianying, China; Potentially 140,000 affected
Sukinda, India; Potentially 2.6m affected
Vapi, India; Potentially 71,000 affected
La Oroya, Peru; Potentially 35,000 affected
Dzerzhinsk, Russia; Potentially 300,000 affected
Norilsk, Russia; Potentially 134,000 affected
Chernobyl, Ukraine; Potentially 5.5m affected
Kabwe, Zambia; Potentially 255,000 affected
Data: Blacksmith Institute
more on pollution around the world
"Extinct" River Dolphin Spotted in China
Kevin Holden Platt in Beijing, China
for National Geographic News
August 31, 2007
A confirmed sighting of a baiji dolphin just months after it was declared "extinct" has prompted scientists to launch an against-all-odds plan to save the last of the rare Chinese river dwellers.
The baiji's demise is attributed to overfishing, dam-building, environmental degradation, and ship collisions.
The large-ship traffic on the Yangtze, one of the world's busiest waterways, confounds the sonar that the nearly blind dolphin uses to find food, Pfluger said.
"When you're on the river and you see so many ships, you feel that an animal like a dolphin does not have any chance of survival," he said.
"That's a personal feeling, not a scientific statement."
Although the Yangtze suffers from heavy pollution, it is less polluted than other rivers in China, such as the Yellow River. MORE
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