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SOLVING POLLUTION IN

Azerbaijan

A Pure Earth cleanup project in Salyan, Azerbaijan removes toxic pesticides leaching into a field.

Country Summary



Azerbaijan is one of the most polluted countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, due to the fact that during the 20th century it was one of the principal oil producing and processing countries without adequate environmental management (World Bank, 2008). The country was also one of the main producers and users of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (such as DDT, HCH, aldrin, dieldrin, etc). Assessments and inventories confirm that during the Soviet period, approximately twenty-five thousand tons of DDT were used in Azerbaijan yearly (IPEN, 2006). POPs pollution is one of the main pollution problems of Azerbaijan. Despite countless efforts, legacy POPs sites in Azerbaijan still pose danger to human health. To address this problem, Pure Earth has worked in Azerbaijan since 2012, partnering with the Azerbaijan government and local nonprofits to both identify and cleanup contaminated hotspots in Azerbaijan.

Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health- Azerbaijan Summary

Pollution is responsible for 13.9% of deaths in Azerbaijan. Learn more about how pollution affects health and the economy in Azerbaijan by reading the Azerbaijan Summary Report, based on the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.

Project and Country Reports

Papers

Toxic Site Identification Program in Azerbaijan, Environmental Management, December 2019, Volume 64, by Rovshan Abbasov, Chelsea L. Cervantes de Blois, Petr Sharov, Alena Temnikova, Rovshan Karimov, Gunay Karimova.

Remediation of soil contaminated with persistent organic pollutants in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, June 2019, Volume 191, by Petr Sharov, Rovshan Abbasov,  Alena Temnikova.

Project Pages

Completed Projects: 

Blog Posts and Press

Read more about our work in Azerbaijan on The Pollution Blog: