The Greens Union of Armenia has expressed deep concerns regarding Global Gold Corporation's plan to mine uranium, copper and other metals at Nor Getik, 18 kilometres away from Lake Sevan, a freshwater lake 2000 metres above sea level.
(648.5760) The Greens Union of Armenia - Lake Sevan is a huge mountain lake that covers five percent of Armenia's surface area and is a source of water for irrigation, hydropower, recreation, fish, migratory bird habitat and nursery zones for aquatic and amphibian species.
The plan would see the transport of the raw material to the City of Hrazdan for the extraction of the uranium and other metals. Among the consequences of the proposed plan would be that Yerevan City, Armenia's capital located in the shadow of the historical mount Ararat, will be squeezed between two threats of possible environmental catastrophes - from the west there is the Medzamor Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) with its storage of radioactive waste and from the north-east, Hrazdan City with its storage of the uranium processing waste - although classified as 'low level radioactive' waste, it nevertheless represents a grave environmental health hazard.
The processing of uranium in particular will produce radioactive dust and wastewater; the latter will be dumped into the River Hrazdan, which provides large amounts of irrigation water. Thus, through dust and water, the fields and inhabited lands along the River Hrazdan will become contaminated with radioactive elements. In addition during natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and floods, which occur frequently in this region, the waste materials stored at both Hrazdan and at ANPP present a significant threat to the survival of the people of Armenia, and also may become targets of terrorist attacks.
The mining of uranium will begin its destruction at Nor Getik near a paradise, where many refugees from Azerbaijan have found shelter. The River Getik flows into the River Aghestev, which means that all the contaminants will also flow into the River Aghestev, which passes through the centre of the town of Ijevan. Villages in the valley of the River Getik would need to be abandoned if radioactive dust were to contaminate the air or should the irrigation water become radioactive.
The contamination of the River Hrazdan would then follow and with it, the destruction of the town of Hrazdan, a resort town where many sanatoriums and health spas, children's homes are located. The Soviets paid special attention to this area allocating funding to limit industrial pollution in Hrazdan. The River Hrazdan flows out of Lake Sevan, then passes through towns, such as Hrazdan, Charentsavan, Abovian, Yerevan, Masis, Ararat, through many villages, and finally flows into the River Arax. The water from the Hrazdan River feeds the irrigation networks of the Ararat valley and all the lands along the river. Thus, contamination of the water of Hrazdan River is unacceptable.
Before the raw material reaches Hrazdan city via rail transport, it would be stored in a storage area, right on the shore of Lake Sevan, because the rail line runs along the shoreline, just like the main road. This means that even if the raw material is transported via trucks, and not stored on the shore, the trucks still have to drive on a road running along the shore. This represents a direct contamination threat to the water of Lake Sevan should a rail or a truck accident occur.
The Government of Armenia must not only adopt public transparency and accounting regarding the activities of various mining companies in Armenia, but also a mechanism, by which the Armenian public can participate in the decision-making process regarding the ownership and the exploitation of Armenia's natural resources. At the moment, our government seems to be buckling under great external pressures, however, if the public at large is allowed to be informed and to participate in important decisions (for example, regarding the issue of ownership of strategic objects, such as Armenia's hydropower stations), then the general will of the public will resist these external pressures and save our nation's treasures (i.e., water and land) from usurpation and excessive exploitation. Also, without any doubt, if given a choice, the public will chose development of alternative sources of energy, such as wind, hydropower and solar (all of which are abundant in Armenia), instead of promoting the interests of the nuclear industry by proposing a new expensive nuclear power plant for a small earthquake-prone impoverished country.
Uranium mining will produce large amounts of radioactively contaminated scrap, which will have to be disposed of in a safe manner. Uranium mill tailings are normally disposed of (dumped) as sludge in special ponds or piles where they are abandoned. The amount of sludge produced is nearly the same as that of the ore milled. At a grade of 0.1% uranium, 99.9% of the material is left over as scrap/tailing.
Apart from the portion of the uranium removed, the sludge contains all the constituents of the ore. Because long lived decay products such asthorium-230 and radium-226 are not removed, the sludge contains 85% of the initial radioactivity of the ore. Due to technical limitations, all of the uranium present in the ore cannot be extracted. Therefore, the sludge also contains 5% to 10% of the uranium initially present in the ore.
In addition, the sludge contains heavy metals and other contaminants such as arsenic, as well as chemical reagents used during the milling process. Moreover, the constituents inside the tailings pile are in a geochemical disequilibrium that results in various reactions causing additional hazards to the environment. For example, in dry areas, salts containing contaminants can migrate to the surface of the pile, where they are subject to erosion. If the ore contains the mineral pyrite (FeS2), then sulphuric acid forms inside the deposit when accessed by precipitation and oxygen. This acid causes a continuous automatic leaching of contaminants. After hundreds of thousands of years, the radioactivity of the tailings and thus its radon emanation will have decreased so that it is only limited by the residual uranium contents.
Source and Contact: The Greens Union of Armenia, Dr. Hagop Sanasarian, President, Mamikoniants St. 47-13, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: (374-10) 257-634
E-mail: armgreen@ipia.sci.am
U.S. contact: Dr. Anne Shirinian, +1 732-462-9089
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