29 Most Toxic Places On Earth

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Linfen, China

Source: https://s4.reutersmedia.net/

Linfen is located in southwestern Shanxi Province, the heart of the expanding coal industry in China. The production of coal that fueled China’s economic growth also ravaged what was once a farming community with natural springs and rich agriculture and changed it into an overpopulated and severely polluted coal town. The country’s rapid industrialization and urbanization led to an increased demand in energy and coal, opening a number of poorly regulated mines. Mining, smelting, machinery, manufacturing, and other forms of heavy industry led to devasting environmental damages. Residents complain that they literally choke on coal dust, and the children have high rates of lead in their blood because of the excessive air pollution. The city is enveloped is soot and smog from industrial pollutants, and inhabitants suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases.