China's Cancer Village

A river in located in Southern China's Shangba region  carries reddish brown water which is extremely harmful for both humans and animals. The water is infected by materials coming from a heavy metals mine through the towns in its vicinity. The flow ranges from a bright shade of orange to a murky white, and the waters are so cruel that they hardly ripple even  in the breeze.
"All the fish died, even chickens and ducks that drank from the river died. If you put your leg in the water, you'll get rashes and a terrible itch," said He Shuncai, a 34-year-old rice farmer who has lived in Shangba all his life. "Last year alone, six people in our village died from cancer and they were in their 30s and 40s." 

(Left) A dying plant stands in the contaminated lake near the Dabaoshan mine in the Shangba region. Its waters are poisoned by cadmium, lead, indium, zinc and other heavy metals.
Tests published by a medical lab in July show that the lake and river contain excessive amounts of cadmium, a heavy metal that is a known carcinogen, as well as zinc, which in large quantities can damage the liver and lead to cancer.
The mine is run by the government-owned Guangdong Dabaoshan Mining Co. Ltd.

Reference:msnbc.com