This isn't unique to Starbase. See also: Chernobyl/Pripyat. Many cities arose around a major industrial operation, including the city I live in, Ostrava. Ostra

This isn't unique to Starbase. See also: Chernobyl/Pripyat. Many cities arose around a major industrial operation, including the city I live in, Ostrava. Ostrava used to be a micro-town of around 1000 people from the 13th century (foundation) into the early 19th century, but with discovery of black coal, it swelled to its max size of 330 000 (reached around 1990), the entire urban area is close to a million people. True, black coal mines and steel foundries cannot kill the entire city at once, but the pollution kills people slowly anyway.