AUA Center for Responsible Mining Is Testing the Soil of Schools and Kindergartens in Mining Communities in Armenia

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YEREVAN, Armenia – In the coming month, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Center for Responsible Mining (CRM) will begin publishing the results of the soil tests from the schools and kindergartens in five mining or mineral processing communities throughout Armenia, starting with the City of Ararat. The City of Ararat is home to the Sotq gold processing plant and its tailings facility, as well as the Ararat Cement Factory. Report on each community is expected to be released at monthly intervals. 

The studies, conducted as deliverables for ONEArmenia’s “Let’s Protect Armenia from Toxic Pollution” crowd-funding campaign, will show the level of heavy-metal pollution in soil samples collected. The research started in 2015 when the Organization and Security Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Yerevan office delivered the environmental testing equipment it had pledged during ONEArmenia’s campaign. Since receiving the equipment, the AUA Center for Responsible Mining has:

• Recruited specialists Lena Nazaryan, Liana Margaryan, and Vardan Hayrapetyan to organize and conduct testing in the communities;
• Mapped 150 communities that are within 5 kilometers of a mining, metal processing, or mineral tailings facilities (see the maps and list here);
• Established contacts and received permissions from government agencies to enter school and kindergarten properties from 8 communities. Permission to enter schools and kindergartens are available for Ararat, Alaverdi, Akhtala, and Armanis. Permission to enter kindergartens are available for Kapan, Kajaran, Agarak, and Syunik Village. Permission to enter schools for the Syunik Marz is pending final discussions with the regional government (see permissions here);
• Developed protocols for sampling and testing (see the protocols here);
• Certified its lab equipment by the National Institute of Metrology (see the certificates here);
• Set up an international Technical Advisory Board; and
• In the months of October through November 2015, collected 175 samples from 34 schools and kindergartens across 5 mining and mineral processing communities. The Center plans to sample soil in the 3 additional communities and schools in the Syunik Marz in spring 2016.

The community and school-level studies to be released will report on the presence of arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium, and copper in soil. These are the metals that our equipment can detect and also ones that are deemed highly toxic to human health. Following the publication of the report, AUA Center for Responsible Mining will begin discussions with schools and communities to address pollution of soil should there be unacceptably high levels.

The American University of Armenia Center for Responsible Mining (AUA CRM) promotes the creation as well as transfer and adoption in Armenia of best practices in socially, environmentally, and economically responsible mining. AUA CRM works with companies, civil society, and the public sector to achieve this goal.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.