Global practice

According to a 2019 report by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environmental Protection (BEE) in just five years, between 2013 and 2017, the level of fine particles in the air of Beijing and the surrounding region decreased by about 35% and 25%, respectively.

What has the state done for this?

• Development and introduction of legislative and law enforcement mechanisms;
• Systematic urban planning;
• High local quality standards;
• Powerful monitoring capability;
• Citizens’ high environmental awareness of the problem.

Since the 1950s in the Ruhr region, Germany smelters emitted thick clouds of sulfur dioxide and copper particles which settled on the surroundings and forests.

Workers, doctors and scientists formed a civil association to fight for better air quality as they no longer wanted to put up with silicosis, asthma, cancer, stunting in children and withered gardens. The fight for dust control in the Ruhr agglomeration also marked a new political direction in the 1950s; by their actions to protect children and the urban environment people laid a solid foundation for building democracy after nazism.

Perhaps one of the ways to fight the dust in Yerevan is just such civil initiatives that would bring together experts from different professions and would aim to disseminate information among the population and target groups. Moreover, a similar example already exists — the CSN lab.

Korea has made headlines with its cutting-edge air pollution campaign. Its essence is that 5G-enabled autonomous robots scan industrial complexes to monitor the air quality around them, while a satellite monitoring system provides the public with real-time air quality data.

The city also announced plans to create Seoul's first "wind trail forest" by planting trees along rivers and roads to bring air into the city's downtown. A forest of pine and maple trees is expected to absorb the solid particles from the air and blow cool breezes through downtown Seoul. Such forests will open the "way for the wind", so that clean and cool air formed at night in the mountains of Gwanaksan and Bukhansan can enter the city center. Seoul has already converted the abandoned viaduct over the city’s main train station into an elevated arboretum.

By 2030, the company hopes to increase the green space around the city by 30% and ensure that sustainable modes of travel such as walking, cycling and travelling by public transport account for 80% of all trips.

The concept of the "wind trail forest" is quite applicable to Yerevan, especially if we remember that there is the Hrazdan Gorge in the city which was thought of in Soviet times by Artsvin Grigoryan precisely as the “city's lungs”. Now this is Hrazdan-dzor— a semi-abandoned area, the slopes of which could well be planted with trees so that cool and clean air enters the city.

China's Xinchuan is facing a serious dust problem as a result of mining operations.

The authorities have addressed this problem by introducing strict standards for dust collection systems at mining operations, as well as mandatory planting of trees around mines to reduce wind erosion. Thanks to these measures, it was possible to significantly reduce dust levels and improve air quality in the city.

It seems that the option to plant trees around mines can not be applied to Yerevan, since the soil here is very dry. Nevertheless, strict standards and control is an excellent strategy that should be adopted by Yerevan authorities.

The city of Tempe in Arizona has also faced a problem with dust from mining operations, including from sand quarries.

The authorities introduced strict dust control measures and required the use of wet mining methods to reduce dust emissions. In addition, green refurbishment of quarries has been undertaken to reduce the environmental impact.

In this case, it is interesting that a decision was made to limit the mining method itself, but this may not be applicable to all quarries around Yerevan due to financial and technological circumstances.

Melbourne uses innovative technology to control dust emissions from mines.

A special biological foam gun that produces foam with a low content of water and neutralizing agents is used here. This allows to bind and moisten the dust particles which prevents them from being carried in the air.

This is a rather expensive technology, the price of which starts at several thousand dollars. However, if the government allocates subsidies, at least partially, for the purchase of such equipment, I think that this might be applicable for large enterprises in Armenia. It would also be interesting for Armenia to produce such guns of its own.

https://www.quarrymagazine.com/2011/01/11/a-portable-answer-to-dust-suppression/

Dust control measures have been taken in quarries around Toronto. In June 2023, Toronto's Air Quality Index for Health (AQHI) rose from level three, which was considered "low risk" to level seven out of ten, which was already a "high risk" indicator. It is expected to fluctuate at levels 6 and 7.

Water sprays and dust suppression systems were used to minimize the spread of dust particles during mining operations. Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to significantly improve air quality in Toronto in 2023, as wildfire smoke was the main cause of air pollution.

The Toronto example illustrates the importance of analyzing each case locally, identifying the main sources of air pollution (in the case of Yerevan, quarry/mines monitoring, mapping and data analysis) and developing and implementing targeted measures to combat air pollution.