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ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT MOVES TO AVERT TOXIC ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER
Asbarez
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Hazardous chemicals under open skies in waste disposal site in
Nubarashen, Yerevan,
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Responding to an outcry and dire warnings from
ecologists, the Armenian authorities have moved to repair a toxic
waste burial site near Yerevan that appears to have been dug up by
unknown intruders several months ago.
The Soviet-era industrial grave located near the city's southern
Nubarashen suburb contains more than 500 metric tons of DDT and
other poisonous substances that had been used by Armenian chemical
enterprises.
An Armenian journalist and several environmentalists discovered late
last month that unknown individuals had broken into the site, tearing
down its fencing and flattening a mound of land covering the waste with
bulldozers or other heavy machinery. The intrusion, possible reasons
for which are not clear, left the chemicals dangerously exposed.
"The site was deliberately dug up," said Edik Baghdasarian, a
prominent journalist whose Hetq.am publication was the first to
report the emergency. "I still can't understand who got in, removed
the two-meter layer of land and unearthed those poisonous chemicals."
"Some people intruded the site with heavy trucks, felled the fence and
dug up the site," said Karine Danielian of the environment protection
Association for Sustainable Human Development. "Now poison has come
up to the surface."
"This is a serious environmental disaster," Danielian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service. She said the toxic substances are being washed away
by rainwater and are threatening to pollute the whole area.
The Armenian Ministry of Environment Protection acknowledged the
gravity of the situation on Thursday. "The site must definitely be
closed up," Anahit Aleksandrian, the head of a ministry department
dealing with toxic waste disposal, told RFE/RL. "There must definitely
be taken under control because the situation is dangerous."
The government approved 31.6 million ($82,000) in emergency funding
for that purpose at a weekly meeting held earlier on Thursday. Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan also ordered the ministries of environment,
emergencies and agriculture to jointly devise within the next six
months a plan to destroy the chemicals buried at the Nubarashen site.
He said the destruction process will be costly and require funding
from Armenia's foreign donors.
Aleksandrian revealed that the ministry discovered the damage caused
to the burial site two months ago, raising more questions about the
authorities' failure to act earlier. "Local residents have not been
warned about how dangerous that site is and have continued to graze
cattle there," complained Danielian.
Journalist EdiK Baghdasaryan investigates the chemical waste disposal
site in Nubarashen, Yerevan
Baghdasarian likewise accused the Ministry of Environment Protection
and other government agencies of neglect. He argued that they did
not need a government order or funding to cordon off the grave and
issue warnings to residents of Nubarashen and nearby villages.
"Our authorities don't realize that when it comes to disasters, the
first thing they must do is to warn the population of the dangers,"
said Baghdasarian. "They should have at least told villagers not to
collect hay or graze their cattle there. I'm astonished that they
haven't done that for two months."
Aleksandrian gave no clear reasons for the belated government
response. She said only that it is wrong to accuse her ministry of
inaction and single it out for blame. "That's everyone's problem,
including the ministries of health, agriculture, environment and
emergencies and the [Yerevan] municipality," the official said.
The recently appointed Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian
acknowledged "serious shortcomings" in the authorities' response
to the situation on Friday during an emergency meeting of senior
government officials and representatives of relevant non-governmental
groups. "We should have put up banners warning people to stay away
[from the site,] we should have informed the population," he said,
adding that officials from his ministry did that only on Thursday.
Yeritsian, who served as a deputy chief of the Armenian police
before taking up the current post, also called for the formal launch
of a criminal investigation into the site invasion. Colonel Aghasi
Kirakosian, a senior police official attending the meeting, assured
him that the police are taking "all necessary measures envisaged by
law" to identify and punish the culprits.
For his part, Deputy Health Minister Hayk Darpinian told the meeting
that sanitary inspectors from his ministry have examined the area and
people living in the vicinity over the past ten days. He said they
found high concentrations of DDT in the air and irrigation water used
by three nearby villages.
"This means there is a problem," said Darpinian. "It is aggravated
by the fact that layers of land there are sliding down and spreading
intoxicated soil."
Darpinian assured participants that local residents have reported no
contamination-induced health problems yet. But Yelena Manvelian, who
heads a women's NGO involved in environment protection, challenged
this assertion, saying that locals have for years complained of
frequent headaches, nausea and other health disorders.
"They don't know what the problem is," said Manvelian. "They just don't
feel well. The residents have absolutely not been informed about the
dangers involved. No agency has warned them against using fruit and
vegetables grown in that area. I am surprised by your serenity."
"I'm not underestimating the danger," replied Darpinian. "I'm only
trying to prevent unnecessary panic."
The NGO concerns were echoed by Sergei Kapinos, the head of the Yerevan
office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
also present at the discussion. "The situation got out of control,"
he said. "It's an emergency situation. It's a real danger that can
not be presented in mild terms."
Asbarez
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Hazardous chemicals under open skies in waste disposal site in
Nubarashen, Yerevan,
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Responding to an outcry and dire warnings from
ecologists, the Armenian authorities have moved to repair a toxic
waste burial site near Yerevan that appears to have been dug up by
unknown intruders several months ago.
The Soviet-era industrial grave located near the city's southern
Nubarashen suburb contains more than 500 metric tons of DDT and
other poisonous substances that had been used by Armenian chemical
enterprises.
An Armenian journalist and several environmentalists discovered late
last month that unknown individuals had broken into the site, tearing
down its fencing and flattening a mound of land covering the waste with
bulldozers or other heavy machinery. The intrusion, possible reasons
for which are not clear, left the chemicals dangerously exposed.
"The site was deliberately dug up," said Edik Baghdasarian, a
prominent journalist whose Hetq.am publication was the first to
report the emergency. "I still can't understand who got in, removed
the two-meter layer of land and unearthed those poisonous chemicals."
"Some people intruded the site with heavy trucks, felled the fence and
dug up the site," said Karine Danielian of the environment protection
Association for Sustainable Human Development. "Now poison has come
up to the surface."
"This is a serious environmental disaster," Danielian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service. She said the toxic substances are being washed away
by rainwater and are threatening to pollute the whole area.
The Armenian Ministry of Environment Protection acknowledged the
gravity of the situation on Thursday. "The site must definitely be
closed up," Anahit Aleksandrian, the head of a ministry department
dealing with toxic waste disposal, told RFE/RL. "There must definitely
be taken under control because the situation is dangerous."
The government approved 31.6 million ($82,000) in emergency funding
for that purpose at a weekly meeting held earlier on Thursday. Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan also ordered the ministries of environment,
emergencies and agriculture to jointly devise within the next six
months a plan to destroy the chemicals buried at the Nubarashen site.
He said the destruction process will be costly and require funding
from Armenia's foreign donors.
Aleksandrian revealed that the ministry discovered the damage caused
to the burial site two months ago, raising more questions about the
authorities' failure to act earlier. "Local residents have not been
warned about how dangerous that site is and have continued to graze
cattle there," complained Danielian.
Journalist EdiK Baghdasaryan investigates the chemical waste disposal
site in Nubarashen, Yerevan
Baghdasarian likewise accused the Ministry of Environment Protection
and other government agencies of neglect. He argued that they did
not need a government order or funding to cordon off the grave and
issue warnings to residents of Nubarashen and nearby villages.
"Our authorities don't realize that when it comes to disasters, the
first thing they must do is to warn the population of the dangers,"
said Baghdasarian. "They should have at least told villagers not to
collect hay or graze their cattle there. I'm astonished that they
haven't done that for two months."
Aleksandrian gave no clear reasons for the belated government
response. She said only that it is wrong to accuse her ministry of
inaction and single it out for blame. "That's everyone's problem,
including the ministries of health, agriculture, environment and
emergencies and the [Yerevan] municipality," the official said.
The recently appointed Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian
acknowledged "serious shortcomings" in the authorities' response
to the situation on Friday during an emergency meeting of senior
government officials and representatives of relevant non-governmental
groups. "We should have put up banners warning people to stay away
[from the site,] we should have informed the population," he said,
adding that officials from his ministry did that only on Thursday.
Yeritsian, who served as a deputy chief of the Armenian police
before taking up the current post, also called for the formal launch
of a criminal investigation into the site invasion. Colonel Aghasi
Kirakosian, a senior police official attending the meeting, assured
him that the police are taking "all necessary measures envisaged by
law" to identify and punish the culprits.
For his part, Deputy Health Minister Hayk Darpinian told the meeting
that sanitary inspectors from his ministry have examined the area and
people living in the vicinity over the past ten days. He said they
found high concentrations of DDT in the air and irrigation water used
by three nearby villages.
"This means there is a problem," said Darpinian. "It is aggravated
by the fact that layers of land there are sliding down and spreading
intoxicated soil."
Darpinian assured participants that local residents have reported no
contamination-induced health problems yet. But Yelena Manvelian, who
heads a women's NGO involved in environment protection, challenged
this assertion, saying that locals have for years complained of
frequent headaches, nausea and other health disorders.
"They don't know what the problem is," said Manvelian. "They just don't
feel well. The residents have absolutely not been informed about the
dangers involved. No agency has warned them against using fruit and
vegetables grown in that area. I am surprised by your serenity."
"I'm not underestimating the danger," replied Darpinian. "I'm only
trying to prevent unnecessary panic."
The NGO concerns were echoed by Sergei Kapinos, the head of the Yerevan
office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
also present at the discussion. "The situation got out of control,"
he said. "It's an emergency situation. It's a real danger that can
not be presented in mild terms."