For several years, sewage from Armenian power plants and aluminum factories has been polluting the water of Aras River, Behnam Giglou, Ardabil’s representative in the High Council of Provinces, said. “The river’s pollution poses serious health risks to people living in northwestern Iran, particularly in Moghan Plain, Ardabil Province, where cancer fatality rate is high,” he said. Aras passes through Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, ILNA reported. Giglou called for the government’s assistance to help address the river’s pollution problem and urged the ministries of foreign affairs and health to deal with the issue. “In spite of the promises made after negotiations between Iran’s Department of Environment and Armenia’s Ministry of Energy on the region’s environmental problems, nothing has happened yet,” he said.
