ArmInfo
Facebook has come out against the development of the Hrazdan iron-ore deposit.
The "Healthy Hrazdan" group has been created in the popular social network and it has already about 100 members, among them green activists, media representatives and environmentalists. This is not the first case that the Internet stands up for protection of Armenia's environment. Facebook has already several groups coming out against the open-cast development of the Shahumyan deposit, development of the Teghout deposit, as well as demolition of the green zones of Yerevan.
It is noteworthy that very often the groups' activities go beyond the Internet borders: the members of the environmental groups have repeatedly held protest actions and flashmobs in the center of Yerevan. At the moment the most topical issue of the "Healthy Hrazdan" group is the protest action against the development of the iron-ore deposit to be held in Hrazdan on March 31.
Experts have repeatedly stated that the town of Hrazdan has found itself on the verge of environmental disaster, as the deposit to be developed by the Chinese company Fortune Oil is at 800 meters from the town of Hrazdan and at 1.5 kilometers from the River Hrazdan. Experts think that the deposit development may pollute the town with heavy density metals and cause dangerous diseases among the local population.
Children will be especially endangered, as at less than 2 kilometers from the deposit there are three schools. According to assessments of experts, the development of the deposit will result in pollution of not only irrigation water, but also drinking water, as there are several springs near the hill of the deposit, and hundreds of people use these springs.
Ore mining at the Hrazdan deposit will start in 2014 and the mining output will total 1.5-2 mln tons per year.
April 01, 2011