The orphans of Sumqayit (BBC)

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By Nigel Green
BBC News, Azerbaijan

With some of the biggest oil reserves in the world, Azerbaijan is fast becoming an energy giant.

But although foreign investors have pumped billions into the economy in the 15 years since the country gained independence, some grim aspects of the Soviet legacy remain.

Sumqayit may be a seaside town but it is not somewhere you would want to spend your holiday.
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Exact figures are hard to find but numerous reports link the town with high levels of deformities in new-born children. The number of girls and boys here with Downs syndrome, cerebral palsy and spina bifida is way above average.

The new, independent government of Azerbaijan declared Sumqayit an ecological disaster zone and closed most of its factories. But they seem to have left an appalling legacy.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6218368.stm

Be warned, this is a fairly grim article.