Hassan Abbasnejad said while the wetland, one of the main sources of dust in southeastern Tehran, has dried up in recent years due to lack of natural water flow, no scientific evidence supports the presence of dangerous contaminants in its airborne dust.
“Available data and environmental samples show no traces of cyanide or arsenic”, Abbasnejad said.
He further urged local residents not to pay attention to baseless rumors. Abbasnejad acknowledged that trace amounts of elements like chromium have been found in the wetland bed in previous years due to wastewater discharge from nearby industrial units.
He however underlined that the levels are not high enough to contaminate dust storms.
