Editorial: The Unknown Environmental Tragedy in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan

Bickham, John W.; Matson, Cole W.; Islamzadeh, Arif; Rowe, Gilbert T.; Donnelly, Kirby C.; Swartz, Carol D.; Rogers, William J.; Wickliffe, Jeffrey K.; Autenrieth, Robin L.; McDonald, Thomas J.; Politov, Dmitri I.; Palatnikov, G. M.; Мехтиев, А. А.; Kasimov, R. Yu.

doi:10.1023/b:ectx.0000003037.55253.c5

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Although the environmental problems of the Caspian Sea and its wildlife have been well documented (Dumont, 1995;Bickham et al, 1998b;Cullen, 1999;Watanabe et al, 1999;Kajiwara et al, , 2003Tanabe et al, 2003), few articles have addressed the extensive environmental damage done to Sumgayit. However, Bickham et al (2003) discuss the environmental challenges faced by this highly contaminated city in detail, while Swartz et al (2003) clastogenic, mutagenic, and genotoxic. Perhaps the most notorious of these is benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chromosomal Damage in Two Species of Aquatic Turtles (Emys orbicularis and Mauremys caspica) Inhabiting Contaminated Sites in Azerbaijan

et al. 2005

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The Caspian region and specifically the Apsheron peninsula of Azerbaijan are known to be polluted with a variety of environmental contaminants. These complex mixtures of contaminants make risk assessment difficult. We used the flow cytometry method (FCM) and the micronucleus assay (MN) to assess chromosomal damage in aquatic turtles (Emys orbicularis, the European pond turtle; and Mauremys caspica, the Caspian turtle) inhabiting contaminated wetlands in Azerbaijan. Evidence of genetic damage was found for two sites, Neftchala and Sumgayit, relative to a reference site, Ali Bairamly. Sediment samples from each site were analyzed for PAHs and mercury to evaluate potential contaminant associations with genetic damage. A significant positive correlation was documented between three-ring PAH sediment concentrations and FCM estimates of chromosomal damage in E. orbicularis. These data combine to show that the contaminated wetlands in Sumgayit and Neftchala are genotoxic and that three-ring PAHs are likely a significant influence on observed genotoxicity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chromosomal Damage in Two Species of Aquatic Turtles (Emys orbicularis and Mauremys caspica) Inhabiting Contaminated Sites in Azerbaijan

et al. 2005

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“…The full extent and current status of the pollution problems have been documented. [6,7] Pollution in Baku, Azerbaijan is largely due to oil industry operations where extensive oil fields actively pump crude oil from natural reserves. In Sumgayit, Azerbaijan pollution is largely due to industrial activities during the former Soviet Union era, much of which has been abandoned resulting in extensive legacy contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Sumgayit, Azerbaijan pollution is largely due to industrial activities during the former Soviet Union era, much of which has been abandoned resulting in extensive legacy contamination. [6] Sumgayit, the third largest city in Azerbaijan, is an industrial center with 23 factories and an approximate population of 300,000. The city was selected for this case study because of the high infant mortality and decreasing life spans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These health effects are suspected to be, at least in the past, due to environmental pollution from agriculture, industrial and transportation activities that have resulted in extensive environmental deterioration. [6,8] Contamination from oil-drilling operations over the past century has affected the Caspian Sea, parts of which are unproductive and whose significant environmental damage has been documented. [6] The quantity of PAHs consumed in food products by the Azerbaijan population can be approximated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[6,8] Contamination from oil-drilling operations over the past century has affected the Caspian Sea, parts of which are unproductive and whose significant environmental damage has been documented. [6] The quantity of PAHs consumed in food products by the Azerbaijan population can be approximated. Locally raised foods contaminated with PAHs may be available in the local open markets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure from ingested food: The Azerbaijan case study

Nwaneshiudu

Autenrieth

McDonald

et al. 2007

Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B

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Risks due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure from food consumption for the population of Azerbaijan were determined using deterministic and probabilistic methods. The guidelines and methods described and presented in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund (RAGS) Part A was used in performing the risk assessments. The current study utilized concentration data from different sources representing international studies performed over the past decade to determine those food products that contribute the most exposure to PAHs through ingestion for the Azeri population. Due to lack of concentration data from middle-Eastern countries, only European countries were considered and used for this analysis. Using the benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalency factors (TEFs) to adjust the concentrations of the individual PAH compounds to BaP equivalent concentrations, risk analyses were performed. Deterministic risk estimates fell within probabilistic risk estimates. Child risks were consistently four to seven times higher in magnitude than adult risks. Risk potentials determined for the food exposure pathway were also determined to be up to ten times higher in magnitude than risks determined from exposures due to other pathways such as soil contamination. It was observed that three major factors contributed to the variability in the assessment results, which were child and adult body weights, consumption rates of the different food groups, and the variances of the input data. The most prevalent pathways of PAH exposure from the dietary patterns of the Azerbaijani population were determined to be from bread and bakery products, milk and dairy products, and egg products.

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Toxic Site Identification Program in Azerbaijan

Abbasov

Blois

Sharov

et al. 2019

Environmental Management

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The need to protect communities from hazardous waste is an important agenda for any nation. Although pollutant management and policy development are attempted in many developing countries, it is not always successful due to limited funds, project resources, and access to trained experts to conduct toxic site identification projects. For this reason, Pure Earth created the Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP). The goal of the TSIP program is to provide reliable information and data that identifies location of toxic sites and the level of toxic severity. TSIP is significant because it provides developing countries a database of ranked toxic sites identified as hazardous risk to human health. For example, Azerbaijan is one of the most polluted post-Soviet nations, but has limited resources to address and manage its polluted sites. The Azerbaijani TSIP database is the first reliable data source that identifies hazardous pollutants in the country. Our study is significant because it discusses how the TSIP labels and ranks the level of toxic severity to human health. It is also the first data source in Azerbaijan that identifies which Soviet legacy toxic sites are affecting local communities. Although our study is specific to Azerbaijan, the TSIP method can be applied to nations with similar data limitations and the need for a database that identifies country specific environmental and hazardous locations. The data sampling method and results are mapped and accompanied by tables of the collected pollutant types to identify communities at greatest health-risk to legacy toxic sites.

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Editorial: The Unknown Environmental Tragedy in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan

Cited by 14 publications

References 4 publications

Chromosomal Damage in Two Species of Aquatic Turtles (Emys orbicularis and Mauremys caspica) Inhabiting Contaminated Sites in Azerbaijan

Chromosomal Damage in Two Species of Aquatic Turtles (Emys orbicularis and Mauremys caspica) Inhabiting Contaminated Sites in Azerbaijan

Risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure from ingested food: The Azerbaijan case study

Toxic Site Identification Program in Azerbaijan

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