You may think you’re a millions miles away from the most toxic places in the world but in reality the worst places are closest to populations of people.

The Blacksmith Institute, a pollution focused non-profit company, has highlighted the world’s most toxic sites in collaboration with Green Cross Switzerland.

Jack Caravanos, director of research, has commented: ‘More than 200,000 people are at risk of exposure to toxic pollution globally.’

Agbogbloshie Dumpsite

We tend to think using electronics is the green thing to do as it reduces the amount of paper waste but when our electronics are no longer fit for use they end up in places like Agbogbloshie, Ghana.

Most European electronic waste is transported to Africa. Ghana annually receives 215,000 tonnes of electronic waste on top of the 129,000 tonnes it produces itself.

Agbogbloshie becomes a hotspot for pollution through the burning of metal when breaking down the machines and this is in turn released into the air and soil nearby.

Chernobyl, Ukraine

One of the most famous nuclear disasters occurred on April 2nd 1986 in Ukraine and the 18 miles surrounding the destroyed power station were closed off.

More than 25 years later, artificial radionuclides are still present in the soil near the accident spot. Local plant life still experiences rates of mutations, including tumours.

Citarum River, Indonesia

There are high concentrations of lead, aluminium, manganese and iron in the water of the Citarum River in Bandung. This mostly comes from 2,000 factories which sit along the riverbank.

While the Indonesian government has recognised the problem, it is reliant on securing hundreds of dollars in financial assistance.

Dzerzhinsk, Russia

Life expectancies in Dzerzhinsk are 10 to 15 years below the Russian average but the Russian government have invested $3 billion in a clean-up programme.

Stephen Robinson of Green Cross Switzerland has commented: ‘This has been one of the traditional hotspots in Russia for chemical manufacturing.’

Hazaribagh, Bangladesh

The tanneries in Hazaribagh, Bangladesh dump toxic waste into nearby water, including hexavalent chromium which has been linked to causing cancer.

The tanneries are used to process the leather for the products which are in such demand so this is an ongoing environmental issue.

Mantanza-Riachuelo, Argentina

Around 15,000 industries actively release pollutants into the Mantanza-Riachuelo, Argentina river basin. This particular water body cuts through 14 different towns.

The Latin American Journal of Sedimentology and Basin Analysis in 2008 reported lead, copper and at least three other pollutants: ‘The government is trying hard to come to grips with this,’ Ericson added. ‘It’s a very large and complicated problem.’