EcoLur
Simon Khachikyan and Emin Tumanyan, the residents of Kartchevan Village, Syunik Region, filed a lawsuit to Syunik Region Court of General Jurisdiction against Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine. They are demanding compensation for the damage caused in the form of the pollution of their orchards with industrial wastewater coming out of the plant and the restoration of their lands. In her conversation with EcoLur, Plaintiffs' Advocate Mariam Abrahamyan said that they are now for the case examination.
According to the advocate, in connection with the problem they applied to Nature Protection and Mining Inspection Body in 2019. "We were told that based on Article 113 of Water Code, the plant was required to immediately stop the damaging activity until the problem is resolved in accordance with the Code, laying down about the penalties in case the activities don’t stop. They also wrote that the Inspection has no right to calculate the damage caused to a person, proposing to settle the issue in accordance with the procedure established by the civil legislation.
In 2019 Simon Khachikyan and Emin Tumanyan applied to "Anikom" Research and Forensic Examination Center LLC to find out the presence of heavy metals in the soil of their orchards. Four metals were examined. The maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of copper in the samples exceeded the norm by 20.9-21.4 times, molybdenum - by 15.8-24 times, zinc - by 3.24-3.80 times, and manganese - by 5.6-6.1 times.
According to the conclusion provided by "Anikom" LLC, the high concentration of heavy metals in the soil can have a negative impact on the growth and development of plants, as well as on soil microcenosis. At the same time, the damage caused to Simon Khachikyan and Emin Tumanyan was calculated, which in each case was estimated the ranges of 15-25 million drams.
Photo Credit: Armenian Environmental Front civil initiative
April 01, 2020 at 14:58