Solomon Pavliashvili, the Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture along with the State Commissioner of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Papuna Margvelidze, visited the village Tsana. They both got acquainted with the ecological situation in the village of Tsana in Svaneti.
It is to be added that in the village of Tsana there has been a difficult ecological situation at the sites of arsenic-containing waste since the last century. This situation arose after the closure of the mining and chemical factories in the area in the 1990s. The arsenic-containing waste was left in the open air without any control, creating huge health problems as well.
However, the government of Georgia has actively started working on the mentioned problem in recent years. This was done in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture .
Solomon Pavliashvili on this occasion added “For the last 30 years no government has been able to decide and it is under the conditions of the Georgian dream that this issue is resolved. At present embankment works and the construction of a protective wall have already started.
All this will provide a safe environment for the health of the population living here and also make the impact on nature harmless. It should be noted that the road connecting Kvemo Svaneti and Zemo Svaneti passes here. This route is beautiful for tourists and after the completion of the project the tourism potential of this area will increase even more.”
Similarly, as per Papuna Margvelidze, State Commissioner of Racha-Lechkhumi, and Kvemo Svaneti, the process to resolve the issue is active and some measures have already been taken. Last year the fencing of the contaminated areas was carried out thus limiting the access of people and animals to the dangerous area.
At the same time a decision was made according to which the territories contaminated with arsenic waste in Lentekhi municipality Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency will be responsible for the systematic management and maintenance of waste disposal sites generated by the processing of arsenic-bearing ore in the territory of Tsana village of Lentekhi municipality.
