This project takes the first steps to initiate the clean up of the most polluted region of Senegal – Hann Bay. The bay wraps around the industrial zone of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is highly populated area, with local residents bathing in the water, and numerous fishing boats along the crowded shore. Industrial pollution along the banks from 1968 – 1997 has rendered the bay exceedingly toxic. This work will fund and support a group both within the Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Environment to create a credible implementation plan that will install an industrial waste treatment plan for the factories of the Hann region. Once the effluent treatment plant is in operation, work can begin to remediate legacy contamination from historical toxins.

Mikocheni, a neighborhood in Dar es Salaam, is home to four heavily polluted streams that run directly into the Indian Ocean. Untreated industrial and domestic waste is dumped into the waterways upstream, or into storm drains. Environmental Management Trust (EMT) is undertaking a project to monitor and stop this pollution of marine habitats and breaches. The project goals are to make wastewater treatment mandatory for all polluting industries, to stop residential houses from releasing waste from septic tanks into streams, and to ensure that sewers, storm drains and pumping stations are properly maintained to prevent leaks into the stream.

The Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT) works in Mwanza and surrounding regions with community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the Mwanza City Council to identify problems and educate both polluters and victims of pollution about environmental laws. LEAT also conducts public interest litigation to force the cessation of polluting activities by both local factories and Mwanza City authorities. And LEAT works with surrounding towns and villages affected by polluting industries. Village and municipal leaders and residents have been educated about existing environmental laws used to combat environmental pollution, and they have been briefed on the Village Land Act of 1999 which stipulates rights of villagers regarding their land and other natural resource laws.

Zambia is a land-locked country in Central/Southern Africa with a population of about 10 million people. About 1.25 million people inhabit the capital, Lusaka, with another 2 million in the northern Copperbelt region. Major pollution-related problems are due to mining and industrial waste. In 2001, Blacksmith Institute helped to found ARE, an NGO focusing on a heavily polluted industrial area on the Kafue River. The Kafue River, part of the Zambezi basin, is a source of potable water for over forty percent of Zambia's population. It is also host to wildlife and birds. For decades, industries such as copper mines, metallurgical plants, textile plants, fertilizer factories, sugar processing plants, cement factories, various agricultural activities, and the Kafue Sewage Treatment Plant (KSTP) have polluted the river. Mineral deposits, chemicals, and suspended solids have led to overgrowth of aquatic weeds, choking river life. The continuous discharge of raw sewage into the Kafue River from the KSTP has contributed to the steady supply of nutrients (ortho-phosphates, nitrates, ammonia, etc.) ensuring the proliferation of various types of weeds, like the Salvina molesta, thereby causing eutrophication. Both aquatic life and human health are in danger. High incidences of environmentally mediated disease, such as gastro-enteritis, intestinal worms, and diarrhea diseases mostly in children have been reported from communities around the river and have been linked to drinking water from certain parts of the river. The raw sewer pollution of Kafue River could inadvertently lead to outbreaks of epidemics like cholera.

Bata Tannery uses various chemicals in tanning animal skins. Amongst these chemicals is chromium sulfate, which can easily be converted to either hexavalent or trivalent chromium. The effect of these chemicals on human and aquatic life is potentially lethal. Equally, the yeast production from Lee Yeast results in high concentrations of both chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the wastewater. The net effect is the reduction in the river system's oxygen concentration, leading to toxic anaerobic conditions.

Huaxi town is located in the southwestern section of Dongyang City. Since 2001, the Huaxi government has been leasing land for the Huaxi Industrial Park spread over 1,000 hectares with thirteen chemical industries. On April 1, 2005, the Dongyang Municipal Government ordered the closure of these thirteen industries as a result of intense public protest over pollution stemming from them. There are reports of drums of chemicals being abandoned inside the factory premises and untreated wastewater being covered with concrete slabs.

According to the Dzerzhinsk Committee of Environmental Control, the drinking water quality in some residential areas of the city does not meet minimal safety standards. The groundwater in this area was poisoned by Dzerzhinsk's Cold War-era factories responsible for the production of Sarin and VX gas. Chemicals and toxic residuals from those manufacturing sites are present in both ground and surface water.

According to figures from Dzerzhinsk's environmental agency, prior to 1998 (and as early as the 1930s) almost 300,000 tons of chemical waste were disposed of haphazardly around the area every year and around 190 separate chemicals were released into the groundwater. The city draws its drinking water from the same aquifers into which old wastes and unused products were pumped.

Beginning in 1997, scientists were able to document the alarming fact that throughout the 1950s and ‘60s chemical weapons were dismantled, without proper environmental oversight, 10km northwest of the town of Leonidovka, in the Russian state of Penza Oblast. The polluted area covers 65,800 acres of forest, where the plantlife, soil, and water all tested positive for arsenic, dioxins, and heavy metals at levels that were hazardous to human health. Locals also fear that toxins have penetrated into groundwater supplies and can be pushed back to the surface after heavy rains.

Berezniki is an industrialized town situated on the banks of the Kama River 176 kms to the north of Perm. The city was founded as a sodium plant in 1883 because the area is rich in potassium salts. This city is listed as one of the most polluted towns in Russia and is on the Federal Target Program list of towns with possible local areas of environmental contamination with dioxins or dioxin-like agents. Berezniki also suffers legacy contamination from the Second World War when the chemical factories actively produced toxic chemicals that still pose a significant health hazard to this day.

Beginning in 1997, scientists were able to document the alarming fact that throughout the 1950s and ‘60s chemical weapons were dismantled, without proper environmental oversight, 10km northwest of the town of Leonidovka, in the Russian state of Penza Oblast. The polluted area covers 65,800 acres of forest, where the plantlife, soil, and water all tested positive for arsenic, dioxins, and heavy metals at levels that were hazardous to human health. Locals also fear that toxins have penetrated into groundwater supplies and can be pushed back to the surface after heavy rains.

In another city in the north east of India, Shillong, we are supporting the development of a project to clean up an extremely polluted stretch of the Wah-Umkrah River. This city has no sanitation treatment, and all the sewage from the town flows into the river, along with most of the garbage and factory pollution.

Bhopal used to be referred to as the "City of Lakes", famous for two tranquil waterways which run through the center of town. However, ever since the unprecedented human catastrophe of twenty years ago, the city of 1.4 million has become a global symbol of the dangers of industrial development.

Bichadi is a small town located roughly fifteen kilometers east of Udaipur of the Rajasthan region, India. This site, which was a small industrial estate (791 acres) manufacturing dyes and dye intermediaries, was ordered closed by the government in 1990, though manufacturing appears to have continued in some plants till 1995. It remains a significantly polluted place due to inadequate remediation post-closure. Indiscriminate surface dumping of sludge, along with irrigation with contaminated groundwater since 1989-90, has contributed to devastating soil contamination.

According to the Center for Science and Environment, the groundwater of Bichadi is dark red. Over seventy wells have been rendered unfit for consumption, and around twenty two villages are without local drinking water. Some of the villages’ water needs are met by trucking in potable water, however the trucks deliver only about 10% of the villages’ needs, they can be unreliable, and the current system reduces local autonomy. Additionally, the contaminated water has since negatively affected agriculture through crop failure and permanent loss of fertility to soil.

Eloor is an island situated on the banks of the Periyar river. The largest industrial belt in Kerala is located at Eloor, with more than 247 chemical industries that discharge 17,35,00,000 liters of highly polluted effluents per day into the river.

The village of Nandesari (population 7,259) lies on the banks of the Mini River, a stone's throw from the city of Vadodara. Nandesari is in the middle of Gujarat's "Golden Corridor", a 400km belt of industrial estates that has helped make the state one of the most industrialized in the nation. Despite this, about two-thirds of the state's population still subsists on agriculture, tending crops like wheat, millet, and rice.

A 55 kilometer long effluent canal carries treated wastewater from the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) of three large-scale industries viz., Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, IOCL Gujarat Refinery and Indian Petrochemicals Limited. It flows from Vadodara towards the sea coast. Water from the canal is used to irrigate farms whose produce is then sold in the Baroda markets. An estimated 120 million liters of treated wastewater annually moves through this canal.

Sludge and sediments in the Mini River, which floods during the monsoon season, is highly contaminated with legacy heavy metals and other waste. The Mini River flows into the Mahi River, the second largest river in the state, directly upstream of the intake of water supply for the city of Baroda.

Throughout the Nandesari Industrial Estate, there are estimated to be 10-15 illegally hazardous waste dumpsites, most in residential squatter areas. It is clear that some chemical facilities within the estate avoid dumping at the hazardous waste disposal facility to avoid the Rs.450 dump fee. A review of several illegal dumpsites proved the difficulty of finding the primary source of the waste itself. Thus, responsibility for cleanup is likely to fall on the state and on the community.

The town of Vapi (population 71,000) marks the southern end of India's "Golden Corridor", a 400km belt of industrial estates in the state of Gujarat. Propelled by the development of these specialized economic zones, Gujarat is among the most industrialized states in India. Despite this, about two-thirds of the Gujarat's population is still involved in agriculture, tending to crops varying from wheat, millet, and rice to cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. Most of the local population living in or near Vapi relies on agriculture or fishing for subsistence.

In 1983, the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) acquired land in Sarigam for setting up an industrial estate. They originally announced that there would be only engineering units in the area but later declared it a chemicals zone. 450-odd industrial units, including 50 chemical units have contaminated the groundwater and villagers claim that some units even use bore-wells to pump untreated effluents into the ground.

A Greenpeace study shows that groundwater in Sarigam is contaminated with organic pollutants such as tri-chloroethane, benzene and several organochlorine compounds. Benzene is a known carcinogen and dichlorobenzene is a persistent organic pollutant, which remains in the environment for a very long period of time.

Sirumugai is a small village in rural India located in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the river Bhavani. In 2001, the local viscose textile plant, the SIV Industries Ltd, shut down. This is now a legacy site, with the river and groundwater continuing to affect the health of the residents.

There are still 450 tons of high density liquid carbon disulphide stored in 14 tanks on the factory premises. The chemicals are stored underwater at room temperature (30 degree centigrade) to prevent evaporation. Evaporation can lead to cloud formation, which can then explode with a spark or friction, said a report from a scientific officer submitted to the Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore Rural District, R. Dhinakaran. Recently both the water and electricity supply to the factory was cut off for non-payment of bills, exposing the chemicals and making them vulnerable to an explosion. A news report published 4/9/2005 entitled “A closed chemical factory in Tamil Nadu waiting to be another Bhopal’ mentions that even a gas leak will adversely affect a 4-kilometer radius but a gas explosion would flatten the entire village of Sirumugai.

According to the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee that visited the area, approx. 1,747 tons of hazardous sludge has accumulated at the Mahad Industrial Estate CETP. The Committee had directed Mahad CETP Association to replace pipelines carrying effluents from the industries but the work is progressing very slowly. There are also reports of hazardous wastes being dumped illegally in the premises of legacy industries like Raksha Chemicals Ltd. and Shree Mahesh Chemicals. The industrial premise of Shri Mahesh Chemicals Ltd. houses an abandoned H-acid plant and iron & gypsum sludge. At the Raksha Chemicals premises, in addition to hazardous waste abandoned from its operations, more toxic waste (probably spent caustic) from a factory in Karnataka has been dumped.

Tarapur Industrial Estate in Maharashtra has been identified as a problem area due to severe pollution from chemical industries. Despite the installation of a common effluent treatment plant and drainage to carry and dispose of effluents safely, hazardous waste is still being dumped illegally and there is poor maintenance of infrastructure causing pollution. It has been referred to as one of Maharashtra’s worst industrial estates and the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee has estimated there to be approximately 40,000 tons of hazardous wastes dumped here.

Since 1946 Travancore Titanium Products Ltd. (TTP) has been producing titanium dioxide and has become the leading manufacturer of anatase grade titanium dioxide in recent years. It has been operating close to a beach for several years without an effluent treatment plant. The factory has its own sulfuric acid plants and generates around 120 tons of concentrated sulfuric acid everyday which is dumped into the Arabian Sea directly without any prior treatment. pH of the effluent generated by TTP is always around 1 indicating very high acidity.

The Amlakhadi River is a tributary of the Narmada River. The Bharuch Enviro Aqua Infrastructure Ltd. (BEAIL) collects waste from three Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) industrial estates: Ankleshwar GIDC, Jhagadia GIDC and Panoli GIDC and discharges it into the Amlakhadi, which flows for about ten kilometers before converging with the Narmada.

Muthia lies on the eastern periphery of Ahmedabad City. This village land has been acquired by the Naroda Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). Approximately 60,000 tons of sludge from effluent treatment plants and other untreated waste have been dumped along the boundary between the industrial estate and the village over the last decade.

The legacy waste dumps at Muthia Village have been lying neglected for a decade with no cleanup activity. These hazardous wastes have leached into the groundwater, which has turned yellow and red. Monsoon rains wash and spread the contaminated sludge over wide areas.

Bicchadi is a small town located roughly fifteen kilometers east of Udaipur of the Rajasthan region, India. This site, which was a small industrial estate (791 acres) manufacturing dyes and dye intermediaries, was ordered closed by the government in 1990, though manufacturing appears to have continued in some plants till 1995. It remains a significantly polluted place due to inadequate remediation post-closure. Indiscriminate surface dumping of sludge, along with irrigation with contaminated groundwater since 1989-90, has contributed to devastating soil contamination.

According to the Center for Science and Environment, the groundwater of Bicchadi is dark red. Over seventy wells have been rendered unfit for consumption, and around twenty two villages are without local drinking water. Some of the villages’ water needs are met by trucking in potable water, however the trucks deliver only about 10% of the villages’ needs, they can be unreliable, and the current system reduces local autonomy. Additionally, the contaminated water has since negatively affected agriculture through crop failure and permanent loss of fertility to soil.

Groundwater up to a depth of 100 feet has been rendered unfit for human consumption due to rampant industrial pollution in Toansa village. Four major pharmaceutical factories Ranbaxy Laboratories, Montari Industries (now closed), Max India, DSM India and a paper mill in the area have poisoned ground water with their toxic wastes to such an extent that the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation in Nawan Shahar has marked its 200 hand pumps with red crosses warning people that the water from these pumps has been contaminated with hazardous chemicals.

Oswal Chemical and Fertilizer Ltd (OCFL) was set up in 1999 just five kilometers from the deep-sea harbor in the port town of Paradeep in Orissa. OCFL is a Rs 2,000-crore fertilizer plant, producing 2 million tons of Di Ammonia Phosphate (DAP) fertilizer per annum, 7,000 TPD of sulfuric acid and 2,650 TPD of Phosphoric acid – one of the largest producers in India.

Since production began in April 1999, OCFL has faced a host of complaints and agitation from local people over water and air pollution. It has a pollution lawsuit pending against it in the Orissa High Court. There were allegations of leakages of ammonia from the industry on May 24, 2000, November 11, 2000 and September 22, 2003. The industry was inspected several times by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board who observed that the unit was not complying with the environmental stipulations and discharging untreated wastewater to the nearby creek and the Mahanadi.