Russia. Poison city

Description

Dzerzhinsk, a Russian city 240 miles East of Moscow, has the dubious honour of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most chemically polluted town on Earth. Here the former Soviet Union once made its vast arsenal of chemical weapons and industrial chemicals. Today, a quarter of the city's 300,000 residents are still employed in the factories, turning out toxic chemicals. In the population, the pollution is taking its toll: life expectancy is 42-47, the death rate is 2.6 times higher than the birth rate, and the men are close to impotence. In-depth interviews with the inhabitants of Dzerzhinsk give a revealing insight into what life is really like for the beleaguered populace.

Runtime

45 min

Series

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2003

Database

Alexander Street

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