Heavy and Toxic Metals Concentration in Kapan Exceeds Norms Hundreds of Times, Says Inga Zarafyan

The concentration of heavy and toxic metals and various compounds in Kapan exceeds the permissible limits not by 2 or 3 times, but by hundreds of times. This indicates a catastrophic environmental situation, stated environmentalist Inga Zarafyan to Sputnik Armenia.

"This pollution has existed for years. And no measures have been taken to prevent it, despite the public and local residents raising concerns. The reason is clear—no one wants to take responsibility or incur expenses," Zarafyan said. According to the environmentalist, technically, preventing this situation is completely possible, but the measures are costly, and there is no one willing to bear those costs.

Therefore, in her view, there is no accountability for the pollution of people's health and their environment in Armenia, and all of this regularly affects the health of individuals.

In this situation, the environmentalist stressed, the issue is not just the yellow waters that appeared in Kapan days ago but that this situation is continuous and unsolved—neither legislatively, institutionally, nor through corporate social responsibility has anyone been able to influence it. Even when alarms are raised, the Geological and Environmental Inspection Body imposes a fine of several hundred thousand and that’s it, which again has no effect.

Recall that videos circulated online showing yellow waters flowing in the streets of Kapan, which are the yellow-orange waters flowing from the abandoned Kavar mine.