Blacksmith Institute recently released their 2011 World's Worst Toxic Pollution Problems Report.

The report centers around a "top ten toxic pollution problems" list, which serves as a great reminder that upcycling is not always possible (don't upcycle toxic materials!) and that careful safety regulation of products and activities should occur before they are actually made or carried out. After all, contaminated materials don't just become "clean" after some well-meaning crafter attempts to turn them into some cute new set of upcycled earrings.

The report's top ten toxic list was made based off of two factors: "the estimated number of people affected by the pollutant and the number of sites identified globally where the pollutant exists in concentrations above health standards," and reads as follows:

1. Artisanal Gold Mining- Mercury Pollution
2. Industrial Estates- Lead Pollution
3. Agricultural Production- Pesticide Pollution
4. Lead Smelting- Lead Pollution
5. Tannery Operations- Chromium Pollution
6. Mining and Ore Processing- Mercury Pollution
7. Mining and Ore Processing- Lead Pollution
8. Lead-Acid Battery Recycling- Lead Pollution
9. Naturally Occurring Arsenic in Ground Water- Arsenic Pollution
10. Pesticide Manufacture and Storage- Pesticide Pollution

The number one offender, artisanal gold mining, produces mercury pollution that affects the health of an estimated 3,506,600 people. These issues pose a serious threat, arguably more serious than the lost upcycling opportunity that a trashed cereal box poses.

Upcycle away, but remember where the real problems lie.