People don't know what they're breathing
"I'm an athlete and have never had problems with breathing, but now I feel my throat hurt and I cough. When it rains, it's like dusty rain. There is much less vegetation this year."
This was one of the complaints that "EcoLur" received from people living and working near "Clear Metal" OJSC (Artsakh 75 Street) and "Armenian Titanium Production" LTD (Arinberd 3/21 Street) in Yerevan. The main reason for the complaints is the smoke that rises from the factories' chimneys.
"Clear Metal" OJSC produces feromolybden, clear metal molybdenum and extorts renium from fumes, while "Armenian Titanium Production" LTD produces pherotitan and other mixtures.
During production, sulfuric anhydride and carbon oxide are extracted into the atmosphere and the impact of the extraction on people's health and the environment can been seen by looking at the situation in Alaverdi city where the Alaverdi copper-molybdenum factory is located.
Whereas there are automatic stations determining the pollution of the atmosphere due to the sulfuric dioxide and the carbon oxides in Alaverdi, that dangerous location is not under the control of the state center for monitoring of influence on the environment at the RA Ministry of Nature Protection in Yerevan. With that said, the following are the data presented by those companies:
According to "Clear Metal" OJSC, extractions of sulfuric anhydride made up 301.1 tons in 2009, while it is permitted to extract 349 tons a year.
According to "Armenian Titanium Production" LTD, the extractions of carbon oxide in 2009 made up 0.48 tons a year, while the annual norm is 0.519 tons. The companies haven't presented data for 2010 simply because the year is not over yet and people don't know what they are breathing.
Expert at the "Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment" NGO Lilik Simonyan says the dangerous materials in smoke have an impact on respiration and the mucous membrane of the eyes.
The smoke can penetrate into the blood and the organs through the membrane and cause various illnesses.
