With the advent of modern society, whose development has always been linked to successive processes and stages of industrialization, urbanization has intensified throughout the world. Firstly, this occurred in the central countries, which carried out a classical industrial process in the 18th century, and, by the last, from the 20th century onwards, in peripheral countries, which belatedly learned about their respective developments. productive.
The formation and growth of cities, when they occur in an accelerated way - as it happens in countries currently underdeveloped - generate a series of social and environmental problems in their spaces geographic. A large number of people living in an environment structurally unprepared for their reception, added to the pollution of factories and vehicles, it has as a consequence, among other factors, the increase in the pollution.
A study carried out by the NGO Blacksmith Institute in 2013, released a list of the ten most polluted cities in the world. All of them are from underdeveloped and emerging countries, which reveals the contradictions that exist in the productive and urban environment of these cities. Check out the list below:
1st Place: Linfen, China
Linfen is located in the northeastern portion of Chinese territory, in Shanxi province, and has been identified as the most polluted city on the planet. The main source of pollution in the city is the production of coal, which emits a huge amount of dust. in the air, pollution which, due to its high density, finds it difficult to disperse in the atmosphere.
Coal production in Linfen City, China ¹
2nd Place: Tianjin, China
The city of Tianjin has high levels of air pollution due to the large production of lead at the site, which accounts for more than half of Chinese lead production. The city, located in Anhui Province, is considered to be 8.5 times more polluted than the maximum accepted by Chinese health authorities. In addition to the air, soils and rivers are also compromised, and nearly 150,000 people claimed to have been contaminated by lead.
The city of Tianjin suffers from the pollution generated by the processing of Lead²
3rd Place: Sukinda, India
This city has 97% of India's chromium mineral reserves. At the site, this element is mined without any environmental regulation, polluting the air, soils and the only source of drinking water in the city and surrounding region: the Brahmani river.
4th Place: Vapi, India
The city of Vapi has become polluted due to its industrial park, which normally does not respect environmental regulations, generating a high degree of aggression to the environment. The population suffers from constant problems related to intoxication, in addition to throat cancer and other illnesses caused by the contamination of scarce water resources available. The water table is 96 times more polluted than the maximum allowed by health authorities, which also affects agriculture.
View of pollution in Vapi city, India ³
5th Place: La Oroya, Peru
The only South American city on the list, La Oroya also suffers from lead pollution. The American company Donate Run Corporation it has been in the region since the 1920s, being identified by the WHO (World Health Organization) as the main responsible for the environmental problems in the city. The entity also reveals that 99% of children have reasonable amounts of lead in their blood, which it also spreads through the region's water resources and soil, which must remain contaminated for a long time. time.
6th place: Dzerzhinsk, Russia
The city became the center for the production of chemical weapons during the Cold War and today is still active in industrial chemical production. It is considered the most chemically polluted city in the world, with a high mortality rate and a life expectancy that does not exceed 47 years.
7th Place: Norilsk, Russia
Norilsk has the largest heavy metal smelting complex in the world, producing cadmium, copper, arsenic, zinc and other materials that pollute the air. In addition, the city is the largest producer of Nickel and Palladium in the world. The high levels of air pollution, higher than the rest of Russia put together, cause frequent acid rain and serious respiratory problems.
8th Place: Chernobyl, Ukraine
Due to the famous nuclear accident, which occurred in 1986, the city is still polluted by the radioactive cloud that hit the region. Thousands of cancer cases have been diagnosed in the locality.
9th Place: Swmgayit, Arzebaijan
An industrial sector of vital importance for the extinct Soviet Union, this city has one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world, an activity responsible for the accentuated local atmospheric pollution. Despite the fact that most of the factories are no longer in operation, the levels of toxicity in the air are still high and harmful to health.
10th Place: Kabwe, Zambia
Another city affected by lead extraction. The main problem is that this activity was carried out intensively during the period of British colonization, so the mines were recently deactivated. The mortality rate at the site is extremely high due to the toxicity of the water.
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¹ Image credits: sheila / Flickr (creative commons)
² Image credits: CHEN WS / Shutterstock
³ Image credits: Superfast / Wikimedia Commons
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/cidades-mais-poluidas-mundo.htm