Dr. Armen Saghatelyan...RA National Academy of Sciences’ Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies, stated...that mining in Armenia has been disastrous for Armenia in terms of public health and the environment. “Mining production during the past few decades has taken place without proper monitoring... [T]he ground has sucked in...pollutants like a sponge.” According to Saghatelyan, a Doctor of Geo-Mineralogical Sciences, these pollutants pass from the ground to agricultural produce and then to humans. The organisms of children...cannot cope with these contaminants. Lilit Sahakyan, Head of Center’s Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory, claims that 57% of Yerevan’s population lives in contaminated conditions due to ground pollution...“In...Kapan, Kajaran, Alaverdi, Akhtala, we’ve discovered that all types of farm produce are laden with heavy metals, including mercury arsenic and cadmium,” Sahakyan stated.