Does the lake in Soyudlu have a negative impact on people's health?

Baku/13.07.23/Turan: Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev made contradictory statements at yesterday's briefing in connection with the incident in the village of Seyudlu. At the beginning of his speech, the Minister said that everything is normal in the village of Seyudlu of the Gedabey  region.

"There was concern about the high level of air pollution with toxic substances in the village of Seyudlu of the Gedabey region. However, the studies conducted on the first day of the commission's activity revealed that the level of pollutants does not exceed the norm. That is, everything is within the norm," Babayev said.

According to him, a medical examination of local residents was conducted. "There were those who refused the examination. There were some who were examined in hospital conditions. According to the Ministry of Health, there is no serious impact on the health of residents," Babayev said.

Moreover, according to the Minister, the incidence rate in Seyudlu is lower than the average for the Gedabey  region. "And this means that the cases of diseases are not related to the waste of the enterprise," the minister further noted.

According to him, in 86 points where measurements were conducted, it was revealed that the indicators for the radiation background, toxic substances and other parameters were normal.

At the same time, Babayev admitted that the creation of an artificial lake for collecting toxic waste in the vicinity of rivers was not coordinated with the relevant structures:  "There was no unified plan to create a unified monitoring system, important measures were not taken to minimize the effects of cyanides and other heavy metals, eliminate odors in the environment. The necessary barriers were not installed around the lake," Babayev said.

He said that an international company has been involved to assess the situation at this landfill, which will begin operations at the end of June. The operating company was asked to temporarily suspend the operation of the field.

In general, at the same time, if the operating company does not take the necessary measures in the future, the distribution of the equity participation of the owners of the company may be revised.

It should be noted that the minister held a briefing after the day before Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized him for inactivity against the background of pollution by a gold mining enterprise of the environment.

Ecologist Sevil Yuzbashova and former employee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Aslan Veliyev comment on the Minister's words in the program "A Difficult question".

According to Sevil Yuzbashova, the minister's excuses are not credible.

"None of this is true. The reason for these words is fear. He is afraid that he will have to answer to the president. I do not believe the conclusions of health officials or any other sphere on such sensitive issues. Everyone knows that cyanide is a toxic substance. How can a lake full of cyanide not have a negative impact on health? There were 18 dead people in Seyudlu during the month. If the environmental situation were all right, this would be impossible," she said.

The ecologist expressed regret that in 2017 Azerbaijan withdrew from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

"While Azerbaijan was a member of the EITI, companies considered the Coalition of Public Associations to Increase Transparency in the Mining Industry (NGOs). They were responsible to the coalition and listened to its recommendations," she stressed.

According to Aslan Veliyev, non-transparent management always arouses suspicion and distrust.

"The commission created on June 21 by the order of Prime Minister Ali Asadov to monitor and assess the current situation in connection with waste in the village of Seyudlu did not include any representatives of the public, any representatives of civil society, the media. But the Coalition of Public Associations to Increase Transparency in the Mining Industry includes more than 80 organizations," he said.

Veliyev noted that on behalf of the Coalition, there were repeated appeals to official structures, including the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, with a request to provide them with the possibility of monitoring not only at the landfill located in the village of Seyudlu of the Gedabey region, but also in other mining regions, especially in the fields located on the occupation of territories.

"We were ready to conduct monitoring, prepare reports to present them to the public, and make recommendations. However, all our appeals remained unanswered," the ecologist complained.