Azerbaijani official: Okhchuchay river more polluted than other border rivers

As a result of the monitoring carried out during the three months of this year, it was revealed that nickel, iron, copper and molybdenum content in the Okhchuchay river greatly exceeded the norm, Mehman Nabiyev, a representative of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, told reporters in Zangilan district, Report informs.

He said that Okhchuchay river, which originates from the Zangezur ridge, flows through the territory of the Zangilan district and into the Araz river: “Waste from the Kajaran copper-molybdenum combine located at the source of this river, as well as domestic wastewater, are discharged into Okhchuchay without treatment. This also leads to an excess in the content of heavy metals in this river. Monitoring carried out by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in the rivers shows that this river is more susceptible to pollution than other border rivers. According to the monitoring carried out in January, February, March, the content of nickel in these rivers exceeded the norm seven times, iron - four times, copper and molybdenum – twice.”

Nabiyev noted that at the beginning of March, a strong pollution of Okhchuchay river was visible: “In those days, a massive death of trout was detected in the river basin. The river continues to be polluted. The increase in the production capacity of the Kajaran and Kapan fields has multiplied the pollution of the river.”