“BAN PRODUCING HARVEST”: METS AYRUM COMMUNITY HEAD (PHOTO REPORT)

12:49 April 20, 2015

EcoLur

“If you substantiate that the harvest is toxic, ban producing any
harvest”: this was Mets Ayrum Village Head Sahak Nazaryan’s response
to expert Seyran Minasyan.

The expert drew Sahak Nazaryan’s attention to the fact that the lead
concentration in 60-70% of the peach samples from Mets Ayrum and
Tchotchkan communities exceeds the sanitary and health standards by
2-4 times because of Nahatak tailing dump operation.

‘We have 500 ha of plough land areas and today people take loans
and make investments in their land areas…If they substantiate,
that the harvest is toxic, let them ban producing any harvest,’
Sahak Nazaryan said.

On 17 April Mets Ayrum Village Head met with the participants of the
media campaign. The objective of the media campaign is to make aware
of the situation in Nahatak tailing dump, Akhtala Ore Dressing Combine,
Lori Region.

‘For many years an unofficial environmental and health disaster takes
place here: a tailing dump incompliant with standards, increase in
diseases, reduction of harvest etc,’ said Oleg Durgaryan, Mets Ayrum
Aldermen’s Council Member, ‘Community Union and Support Center’ NGO
Chairman. Chairman of Greens Union of Armenia Hakob Sanasaryan outlined
the extent of damage caused by Akhtala reclaimed and operating tailing
dumps cause and continue causing the water resources.

‘Environmental Academy’ NGO Chairman Greta Gabrielyan mentioned
that the toxic metals available in the tailing dumps het spread
into environment and penetrate into food chain together with soil,
water and plants. According to biochemist Dolores Ghapantsyan, heavy
metals penetrating into human organism are not digested and accumulaed
in biologically important organs and generate differnet diseases,
including cancer and other genetic deviations.