BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 11
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
The discharge of industrial wastewater into rivers in Armenia greatly threatens the environment and human health in Azerbaijan, Member of the Public Council under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Head of the Laboratory of the Institute of Radiation Problems of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Muslim Gurbanov told Trend on Sept. 11.
“The main source of heavy metals is the ore industry,” Gurbanov added. “Heavy metals enter rivers and eventually mix with the waters of rivers flowing in Azerbaijan through wastewater from the enterprises operating in Armenia.”
Gurbanov stressed that a number of research institutes and the relevant structures of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan are conducting research on the quality, level of chemical and radioactive contamination of water which enters Azerbaijan through transboundary rivers and is used for drinking and other purposes.
“Heavy metals enter human body along with drinking water, causing toxic effects,” the professor said. “The human body is able to accumulate chemical substances (bioaccumulation), therefore this factor is considered a big source of threat for future generations. Heavy metals can accumulate for years, having a negative environmental impact on the marine animals.”
The professor added that the source of radiation is also the radioactive waste of the Metsamor nuclear power plant located in Armenia.
These wastes are toxic and their impact is stronger than those of heavy metals.