Araz News:  Ahmad Alirezabeighi, The member of Iranian parliament from Tabriz, told the parliament that the filters used in refineries are poor and the resulting air pollution in some areas is causing birth defects.

Alirezabeighi said specific sources of pollution in cities, especially large cities are mainly automobiles, power plants, refineries and petrochemical and the government should give priority to the gas fuel supply of the power plants in order to have better conditions in terms of fuel use.

He also mentioned that filters should be used to limit further emissions. For example, filters that are used in the Tabriz Petrochemical and Refineries are not standardized and therefore hazardous to human health. In one instance, in the area of Kujuvar near Tabriz, according to statistics, there has been an increase in birth defects due to these pollutants.

He continued: Department of the Environment as an observer of this regulation should take the necessary actions to seriously enforce the law in this regard.

He mentioned that part of pollutants in the metropolitan are due to vehicles that have technical problems and technical examinations are not taken seriously and should be seriously dealt with the police.

Internal Affairs parliamentary committee councils member said: The limitations in terms of fuel consumption applied using ration cards should be seriously pursued in the form of software development so that if anyone has been using more fuel that the conventional amount pays the extra fees in order to be spent helping to eliminate the pollution.

Tabriz representative said: This is an experience of the world and it is clear that the efforts of environmental organizations should be on technical issues. Even though legislative authorities have expected these issues, when it comes to action it seems that political issues have priority over people’s health.

BY-AA