Nov 20, 2013 11:16 AM EST By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

People around the world are susceptible to toxic waste exposure, according to a research study BBC News reported.

According to researchers, a large number of people at risk - 200 million people - places "toxic waste in a similar league to public health threats such as malaria and tuberculosis," BBC News reported.

Researchers said there's a need for greater efforts to be made to control the problem.

"It's a serious public health issue that hasn't really been quantified," Dr. Jack Caravanos, director of research at the Blacksmith Institute and professor of public health at the City University of New York told BBC News.

More than 3,000 sites in more than 49 countries were examined in this study by researchers from the Blacksmith Institute and Greencross.

The Agbogloshie dumping yard in Accra, Ghana, the country's capital, poses the highest toxic threat to human life, researchers found.

Researchers found the presence of lead in soil at very high levels, posing serious potential health and environment hazards to more than 250,000 people in the vicinity.

The Agbogloshie site has become a global electronic waste dumping yard, resulting in serious environmental and health issues, according to Caravanos. It's the second largest electronic waste processing area in West Africa and imports around 400 million pounds of second hand consumer electronics from abroad.

According to the study, the country's toxic waste imports will double by 2020.

Caravanos also agrees that the developed nations are part of this problem. He told the BBC that many westerners buy products without knowing the environmental impact.

Toxic dumping and environmental pollution puts many women and children in danger globally, according to the study

"These are sites that are releasing toxic chemicals into air, water and soil. These are sites where children are particularly at risk and the numbers are rather high," Caravanos said. "We have not hidden this list from the respective governments and they are all aware of the issue."

Blacksmith Institute compiled a list of the world's worst polluted places:

* Agbogbloshie, Ghana

* Chernobyl, Ukraine

* Citarum River, Indonesia

* Dzershinsk, Russia

* Hazaribagh, Bangladesh

* Kabwe, Zambia

* Kalimantan, Indonesia

* Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina

* Niger River Delta, Nigeria

* Norilsk, Russia

Source: Blacksmith Institute/Green Cross

According to the report, The World Health Organization and the World Bank, estimates that 23 percent of the deaths in the developing world are attributable to environmental factors, including pollution, and that environmental risk factors contribute to more than 80 percent of reported illnesses.

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