Work discussion on Air pollution in Yerevan, existing problems and their solution

On January 9, on the initiative of the NA Standing Committees on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environment Protection and on Health Care work discussion was organized on Air pollution in Yerevan, existing problems and directions of their solution.

Deputies, representatives of the ministries, the NGOs, other interested organizations, the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body, Yerevan Municipality took part in the discussion, who not only presented the indices of air pollution in Yerevan and the reasons of pollution, but also noted that steps and measures, which are directed to reducing the air pollution.

As the main causes of air pollution, construction, sand mines in the vicinity, emissions from landfills and transport, manufacturing enterprises, the geographical location of the city, etc. were mentioned.

According to the presented data, the dust was considered as a main reason of air pollution in Yerevan.

The representative of Yerevan Municipality informed that every year in Yerevan, during the winter months, a certain increase in air pollution indicators is recorded, related to the amount of dust in the air. In particular, in the last two months, the limit indicators have been exceeded by 1.1 to 3.4 times. "According to the Government decision, which sets the above-normative pollution indicators, this is considered an unfavorable pollution state, but is not considered a dangerous or extremely dangerous state. It is dangerous when the limit admissible values ​​are exceeded more than 20 times, and the extremely dangerous situation is when they are exceeded more than 50 times," the representative of the Municipality clarified, presenting the official data. He added there are no essential differences in the indicators of the last two years. As the latter informed, the Yerevan Municipality has installed dust measuring devices at construction sites and has been conducting continuous monitoring since 2022. The same picture was obtained: an increase in air pollution indicators is recorded in the winter months, while in the summer months, pollution is less, and the limit values ​​are not exceeded.

It was also noted that no exceedances of the maximum permissible levels were recorded for other pollutants.

The participants of the discussion raised a number of issues, they were interested in the work being done, which will promote reducing air pollution and protecting public health.

The representatives of the executive body spoke up about the work being done.

The MPs noted that there is need for legislative legal regulations to solve the problem, then necessary steps will be undertaken for implementing them.

The representatives of the legislative body also proposed ensuring more active communication with the public to provide accurate and up-to-date information on the situation and the steps being taken.