 A warning sign marks the boundary of the Nubarashen toxic waste dump. EurasiaNet photo |
Environmental activists in Armenia are warning that the spring thaw may lead to an environmental crisis stemming from a Soviet-era toxic waste dump outside Yerevan.
The landfill, which was breached last year for reasons that remain unclear, is situated in an area prone to landslides and the terrain around it could shift once the snow melts, activists have said.
Officials maintain that they have a clean-up plan in place, but activists said the government must act more quickly.
Located about 12 kilometers south of downtown Yerevan in the district of Nubarashen, the site contains nearly 600 tons of roughly 50 types of hazardous, toxic chemicals, including DDT. Roughly 130 meters by 30 meters in size, the landfill, simply known as “Nubarashen,” was opened in the 1980s to store pesticide residues from farms.
Danish pesticide specialist and International HCH and Pesticides Association Director John Vijgen visited Nubarashen after the removal of the landfill’s top layer. “Pure pesticides waste, drums, bottles, bags were scattered all over the place,” he told news website EurasiaNet.org, adding that he was “shocked” by the sight.
Various international organizations, ranging from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, to the United Nations, have recently been attempting to assess the scope of the problem at Nubarashen.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, who visited the site in July 2010, said the government was alarmed by the situation and pledged to “solve this problem once and for all… [so that] everyone can be sure that there is no threat to the environment.”
The government has allocated 32 million drams (135,000 Turkish Liras) to rebury the pesticides, cover the landfill with a waterproof layer, encircle the area with barbed wire and post warning notices.
The precautions, however, are insufficient, according to local environmentalists, adding that the landfill, situated a few kilometers from the villages of Mushavan and Jrashen, is located in an area prone to landslides, meaning that when the spring thaws begin, the threat to the surrounding land and population will increase.
“They have covered the landfill with a thick layer of soil, hoping the pesticides will not move, but the heavy weight made the cracks on the sides even bigger and wider, and since the landfill is located in a landslide area, it creeps forward,” said Lilik Simonian, an ecologist with Yerevan-based nongovernmental organization Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment. The group has been pushing for a thorough clean-up at Nubarashen for the past several years.
Monitoring conducted under the auspices of the Emergency Situations Ministry reported in early November the presence of cracks in the sides of the landfill measuring 30 to 35 centimeters wide.
“The cracks will get increasingly bigger [as] it goes on creeping forward, and the situation may become simply disastrous [after] winter with the thaw,” Simonian said.
Environmentalist Inga Zarafian, chairwoman of the NGO Ecolur, said that if the pesticides were not properly disposed of immediately, they could ultimately seep into water channels linked to Yerevan. “Each day of delay increases the hazards.”
Gohar Ghazinian, national program officer for environmental activities at the OSCE’s Yerevan office, also said there was reason to be concerned.
“Permanent monitoring and analyses are needed to make sure [everything is OK],” Ghazinian said.
“We can have a clear picture after a detailed examination of this area,” she said, adding that the OSCE planned to carry out an assessment of the best way to handle the remaining waste.
On Dec. 14, the United Nations National Security Council announced that Armenia would work with Polish company Ecotech, which processes toxic chemicals and pesticides, to solve the problem of the Nubarashen landfill, but did not provide details.
Environmentalists remain pessimistic at the news, saying that for years, the government has known about Nubarashen, but only took action when the risk of a disaster rose to a troubling level.
“Measures must be taken urgently, otherwise we’ll face an extremely difficult situation,” Simonian said.
The landfill, which was breached last year for reasons that remain unclear, is situated in an area prone to landslides and the terrain around it could shift once the snow melts, activists have said.
Officials maintain that they have a clean-up plan in place, but activists said the government must act more quickly.
Located about 12 kilometers south of downtown Yerevan in the district of Nubarashen, the site contains nearly 600 tons of roughly 50 types of hazardous, toxic chemicals, including DDT. Roughly 130 meters by 30 meters in size, the landfill, simply known as “Nubarashen,” was opened in the 1980s to store pesticide residues from farms.
Danish pesticide specialist and International HCH and Pesticides Association Director John Vijgen visited Nubarashen after the removal of the landfill’s top layer. “Pure pesticides waste, drums, bottles, bags were scattered all over the place,” he told news website EurasiaNet.org, adding that he was “shocked” by the sight.
Various international organizations, ranging from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, to the United Nations, have recently been attempting to assess the scope of the problem at Nubarashen.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, who visited the site in July 2010, said the government was alarmed by the situation and pledged to “solve this problem once and for all… [so that] everyone can be sure that there is no threat to the environment.”
The government has allocated 32 million drams (135,000 Turkish Liras) to rebury the pesticides, cover the landfill with a waterproof layer, encircle the area with barbed wire and post warning notices.
The precautions, however, are insufficient, according to local environmentalists, adding that the landfill, situated a few kilometers from the villages of Mushavan and Jrashen, is located in an area prone to landslides, meaning that when the spring thaws begin, the threat to the surrounding land and population will increase.
“They have covered the landfill with a thick layer of soil, hoping the pesticides will not move, but the heavy weight made the cracks on the sides even bigger and wider, and since the landfill is located in a landslide area, it creeps forward,” said Lilik Simonian, an ecologist with Yerevan-based nongovernmental organization Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment. The group has been pushing for a thorough clean-up at Nubarashen for the past several years.
Monitoring conducted under the auspices of the Emergency Situations Ministry reported in early November the presence of cracks in the sides of the landfill measuring 30 to 35 centimeters wide.
“The cracks will get increasingly bigger [as] it goes on creeping forward, and the situation may become simply disastrous [after] winter with the thaw,” Simonian said.
Environmentalist Inga Zarafian, chairwoman of the NGO Ecolur, said that if the pesticides were not properly disposed of immediately, they could ultimately seep into water channels linked to Yerevan. “Each day of delay increases the hazards.”
Gohar Ghazinian, national program officer for environmental activities at the OSCE’s Yerevan office, also said there was reason to be concerned.
“Permanent monitoring and analyses are needed to make sure [everything is OK],” Ghazinian said.
“We can have a clear picture after a detailed examination of this area,” she said, adding that the OSCE planned to carry out an assessment of the best way to handle the remaining waste.
On Dec. 14, the United Nations National Security Council announced that Armenia would work with Polish company Ecotech, which processes toxic chemicals and pesticides, to solve the problem of the Nubarashen landfill, but did not provide details.
Environmentalists remain pessimistic at the news, saying that for years, the government has known about Nubarashen, but only took action when the risk of a disaster rose to a troubling level.
“Measures must be taken urgently, otherwise we’ll face an extremely difficult situation,” Simonian said.
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