Magnitogorsk 2#   - Russia

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Russia 2013

The story behind the photo:

Magnitogorsk is a city of about 420 thousand inhabitants in the Chelyabinsk region, on the banks of the Ural River. In 1930 one of the largest steel plant in the USSR was built here. Of the population of 420 thousand, 64 thousand people are employed by MMK, the semi-privatised company that runs the steel plant and is now controlled by Vladimir Putin. MMK produces 7.5 million tons of steel a year, the same amount produced by the whole of the UK. The steel plant that provides jobs for so many people also causes a slow and premature death. The hospitals are full of cases of bronchial diseases and lung cancer. Decades of atmospheric pollution have left their mark: cases of bronchitis, asthma and lung diseases are rampant. According to local doctors only 1% of children are born healthy. The local population still wants the steel industry because it brings jobs and economic prosperity. MKK dumps 650 tons of industrial waste into the environment each year. It is estimated that it has polluted about 6,500 square kilometres of land.

From the story "Magnitogorsk, the steel city" Russia 2013