AUA STUDIES ON LEAD CONCENTRATION IN CHILDREN’S BLOOD IN AKHTALA AND ALAVERDI SHOULD FIRST OF ALL SHOCK HEALTH MINISTRY

13:20 April 15, 2015

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.