Kabwe (F 3)

Name: Kabwe

Kabwe: world's most polluted place

Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/22087

Kabwe, the second largest city in Zambia, has found itself on the top-ten of a new list of "the world's worst polluted places" due to very high lead concentrations left over from previous mining operations. Average blood levels of lead among children in some townships are five to ten times the level considered dangerous.

Kabwe is one of six towns situated around the Copperbelt, once Zambia's thriving industrial base. In 1902, rich deposits of lead were discovered here, leading to a century-long mining operation that never bothered too much about environmental standards and public health.

As a result, Kabwe this week landed at fourth place on a list published in a report by the New York-based Blacksmith Institute, which describes the ten most polluted places on earth. Most places, the report says, are not even well known within their own country, with Russia providing three out of the ten sites.

The Zambian town is an especially ugly example of how large-scale pollution in a developing country affects the health of thousands of poor families and in particular children. Neither colonial authorities nor the post-independence government bothered to provide security for Kabwe residents.



Google count:
Date:

Historic fact:

Other interesting info:

Where to stay: