Atlanta Toxic, and Not from Real Housewives

Forbes trotted out a "Most Toxic" survey, and proudly crowned Atlanta the Queen of Dirty, with Detroit coming in as runner up (can they ever be the best at anything?), and Houston, Chicago, and Philly rounding out the top five. And by "toxic" they don't mean backstabbing and trash talking, so unfortunately they're not referencing NeNe, Kim, Lisa, Kandi, or Sheree. Instead, the survey focuses on air quality and the amount of toxic chemicals released into the water and air in the metro areas. Atlanta takes the top spot because of its dirty immediate neighbors -- Forbes is quick to point the finger at Sandy Springs (holla Sheree!) and Marietta.

While the Atlanta metro area takes top honors for toxicity, don’t blame the city alone. The Atlanta metro includes the cities of Sandy Springs and Marietta, the sites of chemical plants, metal coaters and concrete factories. The cities have toxic-release levels equal at or higher than those Atlanta, in spite of populations that are 15% and 13% the size of Atlanta’s, respectively.

The least toxic city award goes to surprise winner Las Vegas. Clearly they aren’t grading based on the toxicity of residents. Despite the Strip and the strippers, Vegas is actually the winner in terms of air and water quality. Other big cities that made the top ten include Austin, New York, Seattle, and Phoenix. Check out the full list here.