Iranian authorities on Jan. 2 advised the 1.5 million residents of Isfahan to leave the city if they can because air pollution has reached emergency levels. (BBC Radio [5], Jan. 2) Tehran's Air Quality Control Company also warned Jan. 2 that air pollution in the capital has also reached alarming levels, and ordered elementary schools and daycare centers closed in the city due to heavy smog. (Mehr News Agency [6], Jan. 1) Early last month, Tehran residents were likewise urged by authorities to lave the city in response to "dangerous" smog levels, blamed on nearly incessant bumper-to-bumper traffic. Similar edicts were issued for Isfahan and Arak. Schools were also ordered closed, and a cabinet meeting in the capital cancelled. Hospital admissions during the smog alert jumped by 15%, primarily due to people suffering headaches, respiratory problems and nausea. (AAP [7], Dec. 6; IBT [8], Dec. 5; AFP [9], Dec. 3)
The Isfahan evacuation advisory sparked speculation that the move was really ordered due to a mishap at the city's Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF). Last month, Iranian authorities denied foreign media reports about claims of a radiation leak at the UCF. "The rumors about leaking and contamination at Isfahan's UCF are not true at all; some western media are just seeking to create tumult in the society through such moves," said provincial deputy governor-general for security affairs Mohammad Mehdi Esmayeeli. (Free Beacon [10], Jan. 2; Fars News Agency [11], Dec. 9)
