EcoLur
In 2013 the American University of Armenia conducted studies on revealing lead in the children’s blood in two mining towns – Alaverdi and Akhtala, Lori Region, Armenia. For comparison, studies were held in Erebuni community, Yerevan. In total, 169 children aged 4-6 were studied: 39 children in Akhtala, 69 in Alaverdi and 54 in Yerevan. The findings showed that lead concentration of the children in Alaverdi and Akhtala was at the same level and significantly higher than that of the children in Yerevan. Studies were also carried out for the concentration of lead and mercury in the soil with determination of the background concentration. As a result, when determining background concentration high concentration of lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium were detected, which exceeds the highest background concentration by several times (see the report on the studies at…)
Reminder: during the Q&A between Armenian National Congress” Faction MP Lyudmila Sargysan and Health Minister Armen Muradyan, Minister said, “Such researches and studies are in progress. I should say that a process was initiated in 2014, which is called “Mapping and Inventory of All Components of Health System and Impacting It” and the works in 10 regions have already been accomplished. We can present disease and disease rates or health capacities in individual regions. Neither infection diseases, which include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other pathologies not included in these infections are conditioned not only just environment: top four factors don’t include environment. It’s WHO approach, which says these factors are food, alcohol, smoking and physical exercises. It’s currently impossible to fix the specific weight of environment in disease rate, long-term studies are needed, which have already been launched by National Center for Disease Combating. Statistical data show that the region having highest cancer rate is not the region where mining companies are concentrated. If to speak about Lori Region, it holds the fourth place. The first place goes to Yerevan followed by Kotayk region, while Tavush and Lori share the third and fourth places. Individual studies of water, soil and air have been carried out, which will also continue in 2015, particularly, the problems connected with Akhtala air. The rest has already been carried out and the studies showed no deviations in this section, except background accumulations, if we speak about mines, it’s natural to have high background accumulations in soil.”
We drew the attention of Health Minister that his statement about no exceeding in background concentration in Akhtala doesn’t comply with the findings of the studies carried out by the American University of Armenia. Secondly, it’s the accumulation of toxic metals in the organism that impacts on the health, and not division of pollution source into background and others, which happens with people inhabited in the areas polluted with heavy and toxic metals.
April 15, 2015 at 13:20