Alysha Group 6 - Citarum River

                                    Citarum, Kalimantan

Citarum River in West Java and the entire island of Kalimantan are among the world’s 10 most polluted places alongside Chernobyl in Ukraine. The river made it to the list because of industrial waste and chemical pollution. As the river is polluted, it is hard for residents who reside along the river to get food and drink. The polluted river is so polluted that fishes in the water cannot breathe and eventually die due to the extreme pollution. Thus, fishes die and float on the surface of the river. It is easier for fisherman to get food.. but they eat dead fish.

Textile factories in Bandung and Cimahi were found to be the major toxic waster contributors to the river. Pollutionof the river also come from the vast small-scale gold mining in the area that utilized mercury in the gold extraction process. Clogged with household waste, toxic chemicals dumped by textile factories and dead animals, it has lost 60 per cent of its fish stocks. 

At times, the water turns red, green, yellow and black because of the high concentration of dyes. It has been linked with increased cancer rates, as well as skin diseases, mental illness and slow development among local children. In Indonesia, the cases of cancer and fatal infections are constantly increasing. May god and the government help make the river better.