29 Most Toxic Places On Earth

Like it? Share it!

Facebook

Pinterest

Reddit

Twitter

Google+

Kotzebue, Alaska

Source: https://media.pri.org/

Kotzebue, also called Kikiktagruk, is the largest community and economic and transportation hub in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Kotzebue, a remote city of 3,500 inhabitants, is the most toxic place in America. This Alaskan town released 756 million pounds of hazardous chemicals into the environment. The Red Dog Mine, which is located 82 miles north of Kotzebue, is most likely responsible for the waste. The mine which opened in 1989 has the world’s largest zinc reserves and is also the largest producer of zinc on the planet. The mine releases harmful substances into the air, water, and soil, infecting the lichens that absorb them. Wildlife, such as caribou, consume the contaminated vegetation and become a danger to the human residents who eat them.