Monitoring

Environmental control is implemented by the center for environmental monitoring. The Center is monitoring the compliance of the quality of natural environment (air, water) with the MPC standards set in Soviet times. No national MPC standards have been elaborated yet.

Monitoring of Environmental Pollution

Three of the five monitoring stations located in Yerevan were functioning in 2000.

The main sources of pollution in the city are the motor transport, industrial facilities, the thermal power plant and heating facilities.

The concentrations of five contaminants were determined by way of analyses conducted on 9946 air samples.

In 58% of samples the MPC for dust was exceeded by a factor of 4.4 in 88% of samples the MPC for nitrogen dioxide ?3.6 times.

In 2000, the average annual concentration of dust exceeded the MPC by a factor of 4.6, nitrogen dioxide - by a factor of 3.3, and sulfur dioxide ? by a factor of 2.6.

(go to "Air")

In the year 2000, surface water samples were collected from the Hrazdan River, which is flowing through the city of Yerevan, 0.5km downstream from the Arzni hydroelectric power plant, 6km downstream from Yerevan, also from the river of Getar and Yerevan Lake.

The content of oil products, copper ions, nitrites and ammonium ions were determined.

High concentrations were registered in the Hrazdan River section past the city of Yerevan, where the concentration of copper ions exceeded the MPC by a factor of 50. The average concentration of nitrite ions exceeded the MPC by a factor of 2-3 in Yerevan Lake, 4-6 times in the rivers of Getar and Hrazdan (6 km downstream from Yerevan). The annual average concentration of oil products exceeded the MPC 2-6 times in the river of Hrazdan and Yerevan Lake.

(go to "Water")