Top 10 Most Polluted Places on the Planet

Artisanal, small-scale gold mining is prevalent around the world, but too often it is also done with mercury -- which binds to the gold, allowing for a rudimentary collection process, and can then be burned off with simple smelting. The result is gold rush of toxic waste.
"The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) estimates that more than 1,000 tons of mercury are released into the environment each year through this process, which constitutes about 30 percent of the anthropogenic mercury emissions," reported Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross.

The mercury enters the ecosystem both during the collection phase, when it leaks into the waterways, and during the smelting process, when it is released into the atmosphere. Additionally, many miners smelt within their own homes.
Some 43,000 people make a living as illegal, small-scale gold miners in Central and South Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. "One miner said his earnings reached $350 a month, exceeding more than three time the regional minimum wage," reported Reuters.
The concentration of mercury in the Kahayan River of Central Kalimantan was 2,260 ng/L in 2008, more than twice Indonesia’s standard for total mercury in drinking water (1,000 ng/L).\
http://news.discovery.com/earth/top-10-most-polluted-places-on-the-planet-131105.htm