Copsa Mica, Romania

As you drive from Sighisoara to Sibiu, you pass through Copsa Mica, known, unfortunately, as Europe's most polluted town. A carbon black plant, operating from 1936 to 1993, reportedly left a ton of soot per HOUR on the town, leaving everything black, including plants, people, laundry, and animals. White snow fell for the first time in sixty years in 1994, one year after the plant shut down.

The other source of pollution is a lead smelter plant, whose effects on the town, while less visible, have been much more costly, including lung disease, lead poisoning, impotence and the highest infant mortality rate in Europe. Because of the heavy contamination of the soil, health officials advise against eating livestock or vegetables and from drinking the water and milk.

The town has been declared an "environmental disaster area," although efforts are now being made to make a difference.

You can read more about it at http://www.fragilecologies.com/july22_05.html.