Early this morning, as a result of a crash in the tailing pipeline of the Geghi section that belongs to the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, the waters of the waste pipe flowed into the Voghj River flowing through Kapan and the water of the river looks awful.
The color of the river, which flows through the center of the town, has turned milky and has a strong smell. Passersby rush to leave the place, because of the smell and the radiation of the river and head in a different direction. The residents say that the river has changed its color because of the work at the combine in previous years too, but it is the first time they see it in such an awful condition, which is a grave fact and is dangerous for the population’s health.
Levon Petrosyan, the head of the Syunik department of the State Environmental Inspectorate, communicated to Aravot that the incident had taken place at around 6 a.m. today and as a result of a crack in the tailing pipeline at the pipe joint, the concentrate had flowed into theVoghjRiverfor 15-20 minutes.
The crash has already been fixed and they have been cleaning the given section. “There was a crack in the first pipe canal of the tailing pipeline at the pipe joint, the flow of waste water lasted 15-20 minutes, after which it was replaced with a spare pipe. The content of the tailing pipeline that flowed into the Geghi Creek then poured into theVoghjRiver. Since the water of the river is thin at the moment, the self-cleaning is slow, besides, they are cleaning upstream, as a result of which the flow of that water is still under way. We have been to the spot, our laboratory workers have taken a sample and sent for analysis, the results of which will be known in a few days,” Mr. Petrosyan says.
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After the crash that took place at around 6 in the morning, at around 13:00, the concentrate is still in theVoghjRiverthat flows through the center of Kapan.
The Kapan NGOs raise an alarm over the incident and express their concerns, since the combine has never conducted cleaning in theVoghjRiverafter crashes and the concentrate leaves residue in the river and on the coastline, which, after drying, is still dangerous and the dust continues to be spread over the town by the wind.
Meri SOGHOMONYAN
