Years of Stench: Residents Complain About the Activities of 'Healthy Mushroom' LLC

Residents of the summer cottage area in Nurnus, Kotayk Province, are expressing their dissatisfaction with the polluted air caused by the activities of 'Healthy Mushroom' LLC. The company’s director claims that operations in Nurnus are limited to the winter months, and currently, production is not active, but they are open to listening to the complaints of residents and are ready to conduct monitoring before the next winter, according to Hetq.

Residents have been complaining about the stench in Nurnus for a long time. In 2014, they organized a protest by blocking the road leading to the production facility with stones. Even at that time, the company director assured that improvements in filtration were underway and that the unpleasant odor would diminish within two months, alleviating the residents' concerns.

In 2015, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan visited the production facilities of 'Healthy Mushroom' and familiarized himself with the issues of air pollution caused by the raw material production facility. Company management stated that new technologies had been implemented in the raw material sector, which somewhat addressed the air pollution issue.

“If the installation of the filters does not help eliminate the unpleasant odor, we have no choice; we will close the production facility. The health of our citizens is more important to us,” stated Hovik Abrahamyan.

Minister of Environment Aramayis Grigoryan also expressed confidence that all problems would be resolved in a short time, and the unpleasant smell would disappear. However, the odor persisted, and in 2018, Nurnus residents once again blocked the road to 'Healthy Mushroom' LLC’s production facility. In 2019, the government released a video stating that the mushroom compost was being processed three kilometers away from residential areas in Dzoraberd, and Nurnus was freed from the stench.

Resident Argina Antonyan notes that although the stench had decreased a few years ago, the same foul air has returned to their community. “There’s a very bad smell both day and night. It’s impossible to breathe, and we can’t open the windows. When we have guests, the smell can be so strong that they cover their mouths and leave. We have constantly complained; now our hopes rest on the media,” says Ms. Argina.

For more details, see the original source.