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DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD: AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS NEAR ORE MINING ENTERPRISES ARE CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS
arminfo
Tuesday, April 10, 20:35
There are no longer high-quality agricultural products near the
operating ore mining enterprises in many regions of Armenia, Armen
Saghatelyan, Head of the Center for Ecological- Noosphere Studies
of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,
told ArmInfo.
"The contamination of the environment with heavy metals is so large
that it leads to penetration of the heavy metals into food chains.
This is being observed in almost all ore mining regions of Armenia:
at the south, at the north, as well as in Ararat Valley", he said.
According to him, the metals have contaminated not only the land, but
also the irrigation water. "All this penetrates into the vegetables and
endangers the human health. This is a real threat to the gene pool",
he said.
The expert pointed out that the roots of the problem are the serious
problems in the legislative field and the big corruption in this
sphere. He said that the companies are not responsible for the
infrastructure of the deposits, including the tailing dumps.
"There are no ore mining companies in Armenia, which observe the
world standards. One thing is positive: the public has actively
started to raise environmental problems. I think the government will
also start to display a more reasonable approach to these issues",
the expert stressed.
The environmentalists have repeatedly mentioned the places, where one
can find contaminated products: the former cooperative farm "Syunik",
where the land is contaminated with heavy metals, the river Norashenik,
polluted as a result of Deno Gold Mining activities, etc.
arminfo
Tuesday, April 10, 20:35
There are no longer high-quality agricultural products near the
operating ore mining enterprises in many regions of Armenia, Armen
Saghatelyan, Head of the Center for Ecological- Noosphere Studies
of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,
told ArmInfo.
"The contamination of the environment with heavy metals is so large
that it leads to penetration of the heavy metals into food chains.
This is being observed in almost all ore mining regions of Armenia:
at the south, at the north, as well as in Ararat Valley", he said.
According to him, the metals have contaminated not only the land, but
also the irrigation water. "All this penetrates into the vegetables and
endangers the human health. This is a real threat to the gene pool",
he said.
The expert pointed out that the roots of the problem are the serious
problems in the legislative field and the big corruption in this
sphere. He said that the companies are not responsible for the
infrastructure of the deposits, including the tailing dumps.
"There are no ore mining companies in Armenia, which observe the
world standards. One thing is positive: the public has actively
started to raise environmental problems. I think the government will
also start to display a more reasonable approach to these issues",
the expert stressed.
The environmentalists have repeatedly mentioned the places, where one
can find contaminated products: the former cooperative farm "Syunik",
where the land is contaminated with heavy metals, the river Norashenik,
polluted as a result of Deno Gold Mining activities, etc.