Pollution is a major issue in Armenia, involving not just current emissions, but the legacy from pollution during the Soviet era. Sources of pollution include industrial centres, mining enterprises, chemical and power plants, and vehicle emissions.

Prior to economic crisis substantial pollution was produced by the country's industrial centres, totaling around 245,000 tonnes annually (54,400 tonnes of solid particles and 190,900 tonnes of liquid or gaseous emissions). This included around 50 different pollutants, including sulphate anhydride (58%), nitric oxides (15%) and oxides of carbon (14%). At present only a small proportion of industries remain operational (10-30%), and emissions of pollutants have dropped dramatically to 15,000-20,000 tonnes per year. However, pollution continues to have negative impacts on both natural ecosystems and agricultural lands in the country. Nitrogen-containing compounds (ammonia, nitric oxides) released from the Vanadzor chemical plant have affected up to 22% of surrounding forests (703.7 ha within a 5km radius). The emission of flourides and chlorides from the 'Narit' Reseach Association has resulted in direct damage to crops within a 2km radius and reductions in productivity and quality.

Of great concern is the continued release of toxic waste, including heavy metals (annual outputs in 1980 were equivalent to 18,000 tonnes), and the effects of this pollution are still evident. For example, heavy metal levels in crops around the Alaverdi metallurgical plant are between 20 and 40 times above the maximum allowable level.

Substantial amounts of accumulated industrial waste exist in the country, mainly as a result of mining (estimated as hundreds of millions of cubic metres of waste). Even during the current period of reduced industrial outputs, almost 300,000m3 of industrial waste (including slag) was produced by mining operations in 1996 alone. A number of tailings from extractive and processing operations remain in the country, totaling around 220 million m3 (including 30 million m3 from Zangezour copper-molybdenum plant, 12 million m3 from Ararat gold refinery, and 3 million m3 from the now closed Dastakert copper-molybdenum plant). There is a particular risk of pollutants from these tailings leaching into water systems.

Industrial and mining operations have had a significant impact on water systems of the country. The release of polluted water and industrial effluent directly into some rivers has resulted in widespread loss of natural vegetation and animal life (for example, the lower stream of the River Debed, and the basin of the River Voghji have been affected in this way). Natural ecosystems are affected by both chemical and thermal pollution from industrial plants, and polluted water is also finding its way into irrigation systems, thus affecting agriculture and threatening human health.

Vehicle emissions are a major contributor to pollution in Armenia, representing 94% of total emissions (an increase from 67% of emissions in 1987). In particular, exhaust fumes contain oxides of nitrogen and carbon (Table 6.3), which contribute both to local pollution of natural ecosystems, and to global warming. At present laws regulate several pollutants in vehicle emissions, however overall assessments of pollution from road transport are difficult to quantify accurately from the data available. However, it is clear that pollution level dropped significantly during the energy crisis in the early 1990s, but have now risen dramatically again (Table 6.3).

Table 3 Vehicle emissions of various pollutants, 1987-1995