Reports on Environment and Urban Development for Alaverdy

GEO ALAVERDI: ENVIRONMENT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

The canyondiffers fromthe zone of upper plateaus by its climate andvegetation. Rock rise immediately from the river bank and the railroad, fruit gardens stretch along the river banks. Brown forest soils are widespread in lands below 1700m and in dry sunny lands below 2400m, which are characterized by clay contents in the medium layers of the pro fi le, by mechanical clay composition, high levels of humus (4-10%), average absorption capacity (30-44 mg/eqw.), signi fi cant carbon contents, suf fi cient hydrophysical properties /National program against deserti fi cation, Yerevan 2002/. The mountainous mesophile forests develop in the forested gorges and canyons, on carbon brown and black soils. The annual quantity of precipitation reaches 800mm. On the warmer and humid ridges and in the plateau the feather grass – fescue grass black soil savannas can be observed, the southern slopes of which are reach with mountainous dry plants. The forests that grow on the South-Eastern ridges of Lalvar have been seriously damaged by erosion caused by sulphur gases from ACP plant. In calm weather sedimentation of hazardous compounds (sulfur compounds) takes place and the surrounding lands are subjected to erosion. It might be mentioned that since 1770 and up to day the operating copper processing plant pollutes the surrounding soils by heavy metals, which have penetrated below the humus layer. The area of the copper processing plant is 3km in circumference, with high contents of heavy metals throughout the whole territory, the composition of which exceeds the maximum permissible norms 20-40 times (background pollution). The concentrations of copper and lead are even higher (exceeding the norms 32,3 and 16,0 times respectively). Besides all these, the soils are full of other chemical substances (Hg, As, Mo, Ni, Cd, Cr, etc.). These soils are refer to a medium category of hazard, the sanitary index is 6 0,85-0,98, the cumulative pollution index 7 is 16-32. Arsenic disposal site is of an additional load for the soils. The site is located on a hill by Lalvar River. The upper concrete layer of that disposal site is damaged and some substances transpire into the atmosphere (the upper layer thereof is of yellow-green color), some cattle have access to this place. There is no available funding for constructing a new disposal site, hence there is a necessity to rehabilitate the walls of the existing construction and make it corresponding to the requirements of seismic safety rules, by excluding the runoffs from the site to the water objects, or weathering from the site, or the entrance of people or animals therein.

6 Sanitary number is the relationship of the quantity of humus in the soil to the quantity of ammo- nium and nitrate nitrogen in the soil (mg/kg dry soil). 7 Cumulative pollution index is the sum of indexes of polluting chemical substances.

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CHAPTER 3: STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental Knowledge for Change