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Top Ten Toxic Industries

See below for the leading causes of disease and decline in quality of life due to toxic industry throughout the world.

Rank Industry DALYS
(disability-adjusted life year)
1. Lead-Acid Battery Recycling 4,800,000
2. Lead Smelting 2,600,000
3. Mining and Ore Processing 2,521,600
4. Tannery Operations 1,930,000
5. Industrial/Municipal Dump Sites 1,234,000
6. Industrial Estates 1,060,000
7. Artisanal Gold Mining 1,021,000
8. Product Manufacturing 786,000
9. Chemical Manufacturing 765,000
10. Dye Industry 430,000
NOTES: DALYs are a measurement of the burden of disease; one DALY can be thought of as one lost year of "healthy" life.
Source: the Blacksmith Institute, 2012. Web: http://www.worstpolluted.org/ .

Information Please® Database, © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Environment
Top Ten Toxic Industries

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