It Is Possible That Methane Accumulated in Nubarashen's Waste Caused the Fire, Environmentalist Says

It is possible that the fire in the Nubarashen landfill was caused by the burning of a significant amount of methane accumulated in the garbage. This was stated by environmentalist Inga Zarafyan in an interview with News.am.

“I have significant doubts about why the fire spread in such a large scale, and nothing helps. Nubarashen is a very old landfill, covering about 50 hectares, with a large amount of waste piled without classification; whatever is there is thrown away. The slow combustion process goes deep, and we have a significant amount of methane accumulated. This is a flammable gas, very quickly combustible. It is possible that during the fire, that gas ignited from below and escaped. In the case of slow combustion, carbon dioxide and very complex organic compounds are produced, which have an incredibly negative effect on the organism. This is collective inaction and irresponsibility. If you are a political figure, you must bear responsibility for something,” Zarafyan said.

According to the environmentalist, the fire presents an even more dangerous situation in an already ecologically heavy environment in Yerevan. She was outraged that people living near Nubarashen were not evacuated and that no instructions were given to them.

“For example, I am not a doctor, I do not know what else I can do besides closing the window and wearing a mask. There should be professional advice, but it has been the seventh day, and there are none. We are receiving alerts from citizens saying that their children are coughing, are weak, and they are closing the windows, but we have a problem, we can’t breathe. I have no doubt that these alerts are also going to the Ministry of Health, but there has been no response,” she noted.