Industrial pollution doesn't seem to play a large part in the Commonwealth. The poisoning of the water seems more a result of the city's large population than any residue of previous ages.
(Pollution plays a more significant role in M. John Harrison's far future, but not "dying sun" series: Virconium. THE PASTEL CITY is one novel. IIRC, there are deserts of metallic rust, pools of corrosive agents, etc. Which, in turn, reminds me of Miyazaki's manga/anime film "Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind," which is very much about pollution lingering into the far future, changing society and the landscape.)
=mantis=
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