Notable case, Sumqayıt, Sumqayıt, Azerbaijan
Sumgait
Sumqayıt
A Soviet industrial city on the Caspian, north of Baku, that grew up around chemical, metallurgical and petrochemical plants. In 2006 the Blacksmith Institute named it the most polluted place on Earth.
At a glance
- Status
- Under assessment
- Activity
- since 1944
- Media
- soil, air, surface water
- Kind of site
- chemical works, petrochemicals, smelter
Contaminants
Metals
Mixtures and waste
Status
Under assessment
Emissions have collapsed since Soviet times: industrial wastewater fell from 600,000 m³ in the 1990s to 76,300 m³ in 2005, solid waste from 300,000 to 3,868 tonnes a year. The World Bank financed a landfill for mercury-bearing waste (Wikipedia).
Story
After the thermal power station built in 1938–1941, chemical and metallurgical plants went up in 1944; the tube-rolling mill followed in 1952, the aluminium plant in 1955 and, from 1960, what was then Europe's largest petrochemical works. Sumgait was given city status in 1949.
Industry contaminated the environment with chlorine, heavy metals and other chemicals. The city has a children's cemetery, with the graves of infants who died of birth defects.
Timeline
- 1944The chemical and metallurgical plants are built.
- 1955The aluminium plant starts up.
- 1960Construction of the petrochemical works begins.
- 2006The Blacksmith Institute names it the world's most polluted place.
Health
According to Wikipedia cancer rates were up to 51% above the national average, and genetic mutations and birth defects were common.
Remediation
- —hazardous waste landfillLandfill for mercury-bearing waste, financed by a World Bank loan.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Azolla carolinianaCarolina mosquito fernEvidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Rhodotorula taiwanensisEvidence: laboratory
- Boletus edulisKing bolete, porciniEvidence: survey of wild specimens
Sources
- Sumgait, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.