Pure Earth is a New York City-based international not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 that works to identify, clean up, and solve pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries, where high concentrations of toxic pollution have devastating health impacts, especially on children. These communities suffer disproportionately from pollution-related diseases. Pure Earth remains the only significant organization of its kind working to solve pollution on a global scale. Pure Earth's work focuses on two key pollutants: lead and mercury. The Global Lead Program works on reducing lead poisoning from three key sources poisoning millions of children in low- and middle-income countries: the unsafe and informal recycling of used lead-acid (car) batteries; lead-glazed pottery, and contaminated spices. The Global Mercury Program works to reduce mercury from artisanal and small scale gold mining communities around the world by training miners to go mercury free, and helping miners in the Amazon rainforest restore land damaged by mining. Pure Earth is known for the Toxic Sites Identification Program, a global movement to find and clean up the world’s most toxic sites. The program has trained over 500 pollution investigators and 90 government representatives worldwide, who have identified and mapped over 5000 toxic hotspots in communities around the world. The data they collect has built an “unprecedented public database of toxic sites” that helps local communities and governments plan clean up to protect residents. Pure Earth is also known for initiating the

Global Alliance on Health and Pollution GAHP (Global Alliance on Health and Pollution) is a network of international and national level agencies committed to a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach to address the global pollution crisis and the resulting health and economic impacts. GA ...

, which in turn led to the formation o
The Lancet Commission
on pollution and health and the publication of the groundbreaking report from th
Lancet Commission on health and pollution
which concludes that pollution is the largest environmental cause of death in the world today, killing three times more people than AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined, and 15 times more deaths and war and other forms of violence. In 2015, Pure Earth helped to successfully advocate for broadening the scope of toxic pollution addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2020, Pure Earth and

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

issued an urgent call to protect 800 million children poisoned by lead, following the publication of their joint report
The Toxic Truth: Children’s exposure to lead pollution undermines a generation of potential
The report revealed that lead poisoning is affecting children on a massive and previously unknown scale – one in three children globally have elevated blood lead levels, and nearly half of them live in South Asia. Pure Earth has been recognized by Charity Navigator as one of the United States' top performing nonprofits. Pure Earth was formerly known as the Blacksmith Institute, which was recognized for a series of World's Worst Pollution Problems reports that first brought attention to the global pollution proble

Pollution: Largest Environmental Cause of Death In The World Today

In 2017, Pure Earth President Richard Fuller (environmentalist), Richard Fuller and Dr.

Philip Landrigan Philip John Landrigan (born June 14, 1942), is an American epidemiologist and pediatrician and one of the world's leading advocates of children's health. His work has been recognized by national non-profit organization Healthy Child Healthy Worl ...

, serving as co-chairs of th
Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health
issued a
open letter
and presided over the release of the landmark report from the Commission, which confirmed tha
pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today
��causing 3x more deaths than HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria combined, and 15x more deaths than wars and all forms of violence. The report's findings made headlines around the world. The

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

's editorial concluded that "The Lancet study should remind leaders in the United States and elsewhere that, though there are costs associated with restricting pollution, countries also incur costs by failing to do so." Fareed Zakaria issued a passionate commentary abou
pollution's deadly global impact.
The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health is an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (for which Pure Earth serves as Secretariat), and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with additional coordination and input from United Nations Environment, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the World Bank.

Toxic Sites Identification Program

Pure Earth'
Toxic Site Identification Program
(TSIP) works to identify and screen contaminated sites in low- and middle-income countries where public health is at risk. Pure Earth has trained more than 400 toxic sites investigators around the world to find, map and assess polluted sites that pose health risks in their communities. To date, TSIP investigators have identified more than 3,100 sites in over 50 countries. These sites alone represent a potential health risk to more than 80 million poor people. The data collected by TSIP investigators is entered into Pure Earth's database of polluted sites, the largest database of its kind. This information is made accessible to governments so that they can formulate plans to prioritize action on pollution that poses the most risk to populations. The public can view the data a
pollution.org

The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution

In July 2012, Pure Earth convened a third meeting of world leaders and experts on pollution at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in Italy. The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAPH) was formed that year by Pure Earth, the World Bank, UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, Ministries of Environment and Health of many low- and middle-income countries to address pollution and health at scale. Blacksmith serves as Secretariat for the GAHP. Blacksmith began coordinating an international effort to create a global alliance in 2008. The effort was formerly called the Health and Pollution Fund.

''Journal Of Health and Pollution''

Published by Pure Earth, th
''Journal of Health and Pollution''
(''JH&P'') is a quarterly on-line journal of peer reviewed research and news. ''JH&P'' is grant funded by the World Bank and the European Union. There are no charges to readers or authors. ''JH&P'' aims to facilitate discussion of toxic pollution, impacts to human health and strategies for site remediation. The journal focuses on work by researchers from or about under-represented low- and middle-income countries.

Key projects

* Mexico
Barro Aprobado
- Research shows nearly half the children in Mexico are impacted by lead poisoning from traditional pottery glazed with lead that is used in many homes and restaurants in Mexico. The Barro Aprobado project is raising public awareness about the dangers of leaded pottery, and promoting the use and production of lead-free pottery. * Azerbaijan
Cleanup of infamous pesticide site in Salyan.
* Zambia: Lead remediation in Kabwe, sometimes called the world's most toxic town. * Mongolia
Training artisanal miners to go mercury free
Over 1000 miners have been trained to date. * Ukraine – Cleanup of former Soviet arms site, filled with highly toxin chemicals and explosives, as chronicled in ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' * Nigeria: In 2011, Pure Earth received a Green Star Award for emergency work during the Nigeria lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara. * Armenia
Cleanup of 10th century historical site.

Other highlights

In 2010, Pure Earth's impact was charted in a profile of its founder Richard Fuller (environmentalist), Richard Fuller in ''Time'''s "Power of One" column. 2015 saw the release of the boo
''The Brown Agenda''.
In 2019, Pure Earth released the repor
Pollution Knows No Borders: How the Pollution Crisis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Affects Everyone’s Health, and What We Can Do to Address It.

Name change

Pure Earth was founded as the Blacksmith Institute in 1999. In 2014, Blacksmith launched a new initiative – ''Blacksmith Institute for a Pure Earth'' – with English actor Dev Patel as celebrity ambassador. Patel worked closely with Blacksmith to suggest the new name, and will help support efforts to raise awareness about toxic pollution, an issue he says he first grew aware of after filming in India. Blacksmith will slowly transition to a new name – Pure Earth – with the aim of broadening awareness of global toxic pollution issues to the general public.

World's Worst Polluted Places reports

For over a decade, Pure Earth's World’s Worst Pollution Problems reports identified and drew attention to the worst, and most dangerously polluted places on the planet, while documenting and quantifying the startling health and environmental impacts of this neglected problem. The series of reports succeeded in raising global awareness about the extent and impacts of toxic pollution in low- and middle-income countries. All reports are archived at http://worstpolluted.org

2016 report: The Toxics Beneath Our Feet (Top Polluting Industries)

* Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) Recycling * Mining and Ore Processing * Lead Smelters * Tanneries * Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) * Industrial Dumpsites * Industrial Estates * Chemical Manufacturing * Product Manufacturing * Dye Industry

2015 report: Top Six Toxic Threats

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

* Radionuclides * Mercury *

Chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and h ...

Pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microb ...

Cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

2014 report: Top Ten Countries Turning The Corner on Toxic Pollution

(Not ranked, listed by region.) * Ghana, Agbogbloshie * Senegal, Thiaroye Sur Mer * Peru * Uruguay, Montevideo * Mexico, Mexico City * Indonesia, Cinangka * Philippines, Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando River System * Vietnam, Dong Mai * Former Soviet Union * Kyrgyzstan, Mailuu-Suu * Also China, India and Madagascar2014full report
/ref>

2013 report: Top Ten Toxic Threats in 2013: Cleanup, Progress, and Ongoing Challenges

The World's Worst Polluted Places in 2013 (unranked): *

Agbogbloshie Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city in the Greater Accra region. Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

* Chernobyl*,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

* Citarum River,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

* Dzerzhinsk, Russia* * Hazaribagh Thana,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

Kabwe Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 202,914 at the 2010 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

Matanza River The River The Matanza River is known by several names, including, in Spanish, Río de la Matanza ("the slaughter river" in English), Río Matanza ("slaughter river"), Río Mataderos ("slaughterhouses river"), Río de la Manzana ("the apple riv ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

* Niger River Delta,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Norilsk Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk, ''Norílʹsk'') is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norils ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

(*included in the original 2006 or 2007 lists)

2012 report: The Top Ten Sources by Global Burden of Disease

Battery recycling Battery recycling is a recycling activity that aims to reduce the number of batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste. Batteries contain a number of heavy metals and toxic chemicals and disposing of them by the same process as regular ...

* Lead smelting *

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

and

Ore processing Extractive metallurgy is a branch of metallurgical engineering wherein process and methods of extraction of metals from their natural mineral deposits are studied. The field is a materials science, covering all aspects of the types of ore, wash ...

Tanneries Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...

* Industrial/Municipal Dumpsites * Industrial estates *

Artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

Gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surfac ...

* Product manufacturing * Chemical manufacturing *

Dye industry A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

2011 report: The Top Ten of the Toxic Twenty

Top Ten Worst Toxic Pollution Problems: * Artisanal Gold Mining – Mercury * Industrial Estates – Lead * Agricultural Production- Pesticides * Lead Smelting – Lead * Tannery Operation – Chromium * Mining and Ore Processing – Mercury * Mining and Ore Processing – Lead * Lead-Acid Battery Recycling – Lead * Naturally Occurring Arsenic in Ground Water – Arsenic * Pesticide Manufacturing and Storage – Pesticide

2010 report: Top Six Toxic Threats

The report identifies and quantifies the impacts of the most damaging toxic pollutants. The Top Six Toxic Threats are: * Lead * Mercury * Chromium * Arsenic * Pesticides * Radionuclides

2009 report: 12 Cases of Cleanup and Success

The report lists 10 programs, unranked, as examples of successful efforts to reduce the toll of pollution on human health. It also includes two initiatives with worldwide impact. * Improving

indoor air Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within and around buildings and structures. IAQ is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. Poor indoor air quality has been linked to sick building syndrome, reduced ...

– Accra,

* Preventing mining pollution – Candelaria,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

* Lowering radioactivity – Chernobyl,

* Cleaning urban air –

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

* Removing

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

–

Haina Haina (Kloster) is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in northwest Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Haina lies in Waldeck-Frankenberg south of Frankenberg and east of Burgwald at the southwest slope of the Kellerwald range. It lies on the ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

* Recapturing mercury –

* Reducing lead – Rudnaya Pristan,

* Removing DDT –

Old Korogwe Old Korogwe is an administrative ward in Korogwe Urban District of Tanga Region in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

* Restoring a waterway –

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China * Removing

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, bu ...

–

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

* Phasing out

leaded gasoline Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that ...

– Worldwide * Ending

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

– Worldwide

2008 report: Top Ten World's Worst Pollution Problems

* Artisanal Gold Mining * Contaminated Surface Water * Indoor Air Pollution * Industrial Mining Activities * Groundwater Contamination * Metals Smelting and Processing * Radioactive Waste and Uranium Mining * Untreated Sewage * Urban Air Quality * Used Lead Acid Battery Recycling

2006 and 2007 reports: Top Ten World's Worst Polluted Places

As of September 2007, the Institute lists the following as the world's ten most polluted places (in alphabetical order by country): *

Sumqayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after B ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

* Linfen, China *

Tianying Tianying () is a town under the administration of Jieshou, which is in turn administered by the prefecture-level city of Fuyang, in northwestern Anhui Province, China. The town has 26,095 inhabitants according to the 2001 census. Pollution Near ...

, China * Sukinda,

* Vapi, India (Update: Removed from list due to significant improvements) * La Oroya,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

* Dzerzhinsk,

, Russia * Chernobyl,

Also mentioned

* Godwin,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

* Matanza,

* Hazaribagh Thana,

* DongYangHuaxi, China *

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

, China * Urumqi, China * Wanshan, China *

* Oriente,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Mahad Industrial Estate Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in Raigad district (formerly Kulaba district) situated in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra state, India. It is located from District's headquarter Alibag, and from Mumbai, the state capital of Maharash ...

* Ranipet, India * Ust-Kamenogorsk,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

* Mailuu-Suu,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

* Huancavelica,

* Meycauayan,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

* Marilao, Philippines * Bratsk,

* Chita, Russia *

Magnitogorsk Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its populat ...

, Russia * Rudnaya Pristan, Russia

References

External links

Official website

World's Worst Polluted Places Reports
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1999 Environmental organizations based in New York City 1999 establishments in New York (state)