The danger at Nubarashen mortuary of pesticides near Yerevan will increase in spring

In spite of the measures taken Nubarashen mortuary of pesticides in Armenia is a great threat for the residents and the environment. The danger will get even more severe in spring, first of all because of the fact that the mortuary is located in a landslide zone, the experts of the Word Bank declared.

According to the data of "Ecolur" non-governmental organization based upon the monitoring carried out by the experts of the Word Bank (WB), landslide processes have quickened in the territory of Nubarashen mortuary. 

The opinion of Lilit Simonyan, expert of WB and Head of the organization "Armenian Women for the Sake of Health and Healthy Environment", is that new cracks have appeared in the territory of the mortuary. She expressed her fear that in spring as a result of snow and rain the landslides would increase which will result in extension of emission of toxic agents to the atmosphere. She thinks that urgent measures should be taken for closing down the content of the cemetery.

Aram Arutiunyan, Minister of Environment Defense, has also expressed his concern about the current state of affairs.

"With the mediation of international experts and collaboration with non-governmental organizations we will find the optimal solution of the problem", the Minister says.

The problem of the mortuary became one of the major items of the agenda for the Government in May of this year when Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan decided to allot 31,6 million drams (equal to about 85 thousand dollars) from the Government's reserve fund for burial of pesticides in Nubarashen. Works on restoration of the disrupted land covering, burial of pesticides and refinement of the territory have been carried out within the framework of finance provided by the Government. Besides, the territory of the mortuary has been covered with waterproof layer and the cemetery has been isolated.