ArmInfo
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.
April 12, 2012 at 18:35