EcoLur
On 8 April during Q&A session with the Cabinet members “Country of Laws” Faction MP Levon Dokholyan, National Assembly “Armenian National Congress” Faction MP Lyudmila Sargysan and “Prosperous Armenia” Faction MP Michael Melqumyan addressed a question to Cabinet members on the impact of mining on human health and construction of a copper smelting plant. Below we present the Q&A between Armenian National Congress” Faction MP Lyudmila Sargysan and Health Minister Armen Muradyan.
Lyudmila Sargysan: In February 2014 new law on “Environmental Impact Assessment” entered into force. From that time on, which body of Health Ministry, if any, carried out the expertise of industrial projects to assess their impact on human health and to issue an expertise opinion? Whether methodological grounds and bylaws are available to assess the impact of mining and similar projects on human health and to carry out such expertise?
Armen Muradyan: 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.
- Lyudmila Sargysan: Mr. Minister, I can’t believe, it’s really like that. The worse thing is that the population doesn’t believe it. The research conducted by the AUA showed that the concentration of lead in children’s blood exceeds the MPC by 8 times because of the poor operation of Akhtala operation, which leads to numerous diseases and endangers the genofond. How can you explain this, if it’s not conditioned with environmental problems?
-Armen Muradyan: I didn’t say we don’t have any environmental problems. Just environmental problems don’t take the first place in disease rate. The rate of cardiovascular diseases has increased by 2 times in Lori Region, and the rate for cancer diseases is 1.4 times. The works, which will be aimed to prove the burden of individual factors, will take much time and to prove the impact of individual factors in this and that disease. All these works are in progress and I hope we can accomplish them together with you and we can present anybody the findings of the studies, and, certainly take proper measures.
April 09, 2015 at 15:52