FAQ

What is the 2009 World’s Worst Polluted Places: 12 Cases of Cleanup and Success report?

The 2009 report is the fourth in Blacksmith Institute's annual World's Worst Polluted Places reports.  The 2009 report focuses on solutions. It includes 10 programs, alphabetically listed by location, which have been successful in reducing the toll of pollution on human health.  In addition, two initiatives with worldwide impact—the leaded gas phase out and the obsolete chemical weapons treaty—are highlighted as models of how the international community can work together to make meaningful progress on pollution and health. The 2009 report is jointly issued by Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross Switzerland.

What is the purpose of the 2009 report?

The purpose of this year's report is to begin to create broad support in the international community for a global commitment to eliminate the health impacts of toxic pollution in developing countries.

What does the 2009 report show?

The 2009 report shows that:

• Pollution can be eliminated.  The examples show that pollution problems can be tackled successfully even with limited funding using through models that can be replicated around the world.  
• Pollution remediation is one of the most effective ways of saving lives and therefore governments and NGOs should be persuaded to step up funding for similar remediation programs.
• Pollution remediation is still very much an emerging issue as evidenced by low number of nominations received for this year’s report despite the scope of the problem (Blacksmith Institute currently possesses a database with over 1,000 sites still waiting for cleanups to be initiated).

How were clean ups and successful cases chosen?

Blacksmith put out a call for nominations to numerous organizations throughout the world and reached out to implementing agencies, NGOs, and government institutions for data regarding these sites. Because the data for many of these projects was unattainable, Blacksmith relied on the experience and expertise of our Technical Advisory Board, to extrapolate which programs have relevance and should be celebrated for their successful pollution-reduction outcomes.

The examples selected cover remediation, education, legislation and innovation (technological and social).  They are not ranked, and were not chosen based on comparable criteria. Rather, sites were selected to give us an idea of the way forward, to tackle one of the largest public health threats of our time.  

These examples are not a definitive or exclusive list, but rather guidance for the possibilities of the impact of this work on a global scale.

What are the World’s Worst Polluted Places Reports?

Blacksmith initiated the report in 2006 to raise public awareness of the devastating toll of pollution on communities in developing countries. Members of Blacksmith's Technical Advisory Board - comprised of leading experts in environmental health and pollution remediation - defined specific health-related selection criteria and identified ten "worst-case" sites based on the best-available information.

In subsequent years, the report has been issued jointly by Blacksmith and Green Cross Switzerland. In 2007, the report expanded to include another 20 sites, which provided a more complete assessment. The 2008 report shifted to types of problems that occur over and over again.

The reports have been widely distributed and extensively reported, helping to increase understanding of the challenges posed in polluted places. This scrutiny also led to efforts by many of the worst cases to improve their performance.  In several sites, Blacksmith has been invited by the relevant authorities to review and even support remediation efforts.

What is Blacksmith Institute?

Blacksmith Institute is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to solving life-threatening pollution issues in the developing world.  A global leader in this field, Blacksmith addresses a critical need to identify and clean up the world's worst polluted places. Blacksmith focuses on areas where human health, especially that of women and children, is most at risk.

Based in New York, Blacksmith works cooperatively around the world in partnerships that include governments, the international community, NGOs and local agencies to design and implement innovative, low-cost solutions to save lives.  Since 1999, Blacksmith has completed over 30 projects; Blacksmith is currently engaged in over 40 projects in 19 countries.

Blacksmith Institute is known for its annual World's Worst reports; for the creation of the Blacksmith Scale (used around the world to rate levels of health risk from pollution); and for the Blacksmith database, the only resource of its kind, which currently documents over 600 of the world's worst polluted sites.  

Key Blacksmith Projects include:

The Health and Pollution Fund (HPF)
In 2008, Blacksmith began efforts to create the global Health and Pollution Fund to finance the cleanup and elimination of legacy pollution in the developing world.

The Global Inventory Project
Blacksmith investigative teams are assessing a total of about 3000 polluted sites in more than 80 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in order to build the first comprehensive global inventory of the world's worst polluted places with human health impact.

The Lead Poisoning and Car Batteries Project
Blacksmith is the leading organization working to clean up lead pollution caused by the improper recycling of used car batteries.  This is one of the worst pollution problems in the developing world, one that is growing with consumer demand for cars.

Artisanal Gold Mining (Mercury Poisoning)
Blacksmith is working with UNIDO's (The United Nations Industrial Development Organization) Global Mercury Project. UNIDO estimates that artisanal gold mining results in the release of an estimated 1,000 tons of toxic mercury per year, which constitutes about 30% of the world's mercury emissions.  

Who are your partner organizations?

In releasing this year's report, Blacksmith Institute partnered with Green Cross Switzerland. The two organizations have worked together since 2006. They are currently collaborating on a project to clean up pollution from legacy mining and smelting operations in Rudnaya Pristan in Russia's Far East and to address chemical pollution in the aftermath of the Earthquake in Sichuan, China among others. Green Cross Switzerland facilitates overcoming consequential damages caused by industrial and military disasters and the cleanup of contaminated sites from the period of the Cold war.  You can read more about Green Cross Switzerland at www.greencross.ch.