SOME PROBLEMS OF AIR POLLUTION IN ARMENIA WITHIN POST-SOVIET PERIOD

LUIZA GHARIBYAN, Ph.D YEREVAN STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY (ARMENIA) Associate professor (dotsent) Yerevan State Medical University, Department of «Hygiene and Ecology», Armenia

The transition to the new social-economic condition creates deep changes in living standards in Armenia.

Due to decreased industrial production industrial pollution decreased, but the radical worsening in economic and social spheres and the resulting growth poverty.

The changes in living conditions influence public health.

In this investigation I tried to illuminate the role of air pollution on some indicators of health. As a source of the information we have used the reports of Ministry of Health for , Department of Statistics, Dispensary.

The investigations of the health effects of air pollution was based on the data of the Monitoring Center. Materials were analyzed by dispersion, regression and correlation methods.

INFANT MORTALITY IN ARMENIA PER 1000 ( YEARS ) Armenia Urban Rural Yerevan

Still-births in Armenia ( )

The sickness rate and the death-rate of breathing pathologies have also diminished between of 1987 – bronchitis

Air pollution in Armenia ( ) Air pollution

The decrease of summary pollutions index “P” (by M. Pinigin) from 10.7 to 4.8 is correlated with the stillbirth-rate decrease as (r=0.85); correspondingly the breathing pathologies death-rate decrease can be described as the average correlation (r=0.44).

Starting in 1993 mainly because of the wide use of bad quality petrol unallowable concentration of formaldehyde and benzene were found in the air of Yerevan. Because of changes in the type of heating system in Armenia the level of indoor air pollution has increased.

Bronchial asthma in Yerevan per (primary morbidity of adults)

At the same time breathing pathologies, contributing to a rise in death rate, lung’s cancer, still births, infant mortality and bronchial asthma have increased.

Our studies have shown a correlation (r=0.45) between the level of indoor and outdoor air pollution and health of pregnant women and infants because of their more susceptibility to the effect of PM and combustion gases.

The incidence of stillborn per 1000 in Charentsavan (Armenia)

The number of newborn with low weight per %

The number of newborn with inborn defects per % in Charentsavan (Armenia)

From these results we can conclude that the establishment of quantity dependence between the level of environment pollution and sick rate may be very useful in risk assessment of unfavorable factors.

That is why it is important for us to acquire contemporary knowledge in assessing of risk of unfavorable factors to establish the role of each dangerous factor of environment in forming indicator pathologies.