Rebah Dhibi , a resident of Kasserine, Tunisia is one of many people who are grappling with the harsh effects of environmental pollution. A CCTV Africa report revealed that a neighborhood factory is partly to blame for the daily release of toxic smoke and chemicals.

“Every time the chlorine gas is emitted, we are asphyxiated. We start to cough and it’s hard to breathe. For me it has become a lifelong sickness,” Dhibi told CCTV Africa.

“This smoke is laden with monocarbons which are dangerous chemicals. There are also chloride gas leaks. This can affect someone’s breathing,” Dr. Mahmdi Naceur, Kasserine’s deputy director for environmental health said.

Chloric acid, sulfuric acid and calcium carbonate amongst other chemicals are leaking into the neighborhood’s water stream affecting local agriculture.