Desk Study on the Environment in Iraq Desk Study on the ... - UNEP

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4 Bomb damage to Republican Palace, Baghdad, 1 April 2003 Images courtesy of Space Imaging doubt on initial claims that many of the wellheads had been sabotaged, reporting only very limited evidence of tampering. Only two fires were still burning on 3 April 102 , while the last fire was reportedly extinguished on 15 April. 103 Oil-filled trenches in and around Baghdad were set alight in an attempt to impede coalition weapons and prevent aerial and satellite surveillance. These fires, together with fires at targeted sites, generated large quantities of dense black smoke, containing a range of toxic substances, with potential health risks for local people. The trenches also cause soil pollution and potentially threaten contamination of groundwater bodies and drinking water supplies. The number, extent and intensity of oil fires (whether from wells or trenches) were far smaller than during the 1991 Gulf War and it can be expected that damage to the environment and/ or human health has been at a lower level. However, further studies are needed to confirm this tentative conclusion. As of 22 April, there have been no reports of any major oil (or petroleum product) spills, either on land or into water bodies (including offshore waters). This again contrasts with the severe environmental damage that occurred during the 1991 Gulf War. 72 <strong>Desk</strong> <strong>Study</strong>
• Environmental impacts of oil fires Crude oil is a mixture of about one thousand different hydrocarbons, with exact composition (notably the ratio of heavy and light components) varying from one reserve to another. The products of uncontrolled oil fires, whether at a wellhead, a storage area or in trenches, will depend on the type of crude oil, local climate conditions, the content of hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), water and/or natural gas, and the presence of naturally occurring radioactivity, especially dissolved radon isotopes as products of the natural uranium decay series. The broad categories of contaminants from oil fires are: • extreme heat • carbon monoxide • unburned hydrocarbons • poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) • polychlorinated-dibenzo-dioxins and furans • carbon soot • • • carbon dioxide • radon oxides of sulphur oxides of nitrogen Bomb damage in Dawrah area of Baghdad, 1 April 2003 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CONFLICT Images courtesy of Space Imaging on the Environment in Iraq 73
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Desk Study
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Desk Study
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Foreword Every conflict generates r
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1 Introduction 1.1 Overview This <s
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2 Background information 2.1 Overvi
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2 (b) Northeastern highlands: Cover
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2 ment Programme (UNDP) listed Iraq
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2 early May. To avert a humanitaria
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2 FRANCOISE DE MULDER - CORBIS Iraq
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2 day, though ongoing UN sanctions
Page 22 and 23: 2 As of 31 March 2003 there were US
Page 24 and 25: 2 estimated that only 3 to 5 millio
Page 26 and 27: 2 2002 April - Baghdad suspends oil
Page 28 and 29: 3 Summary of chronic environmental
Page 30 and 31: 3 • The adverse downstream impact
Page 32 and 33: 3 the city’s only source of water
Page 34 and 35: 3 ED KASHI - CORBIS Recent studies
Page 36 and 37: 3 In 1999, it was reported that a d
Page 38 and 39: 3 • surface and subsurface distur
Page 40 and 41: 3 Mesopotamian Marshlands (1973) L
Page 42 and 43: 3 Zoom of remaining Marshland area
Page 44 and 45: 3 massive loss and degradation had
Page 46 and 47: 3 H. PARTOW-UNEP/GRID-GENEVA Burnt
Page 48 and 49: 3 A large number of reptiles occur
Page 50 and 51: 3 agricultural investment activitie
Page 52 and 53: 4 Environmental impacts of military
Page 54 and 55: 4 Map 7. Well-documented use of ch
Page 56 and 57: 4 4.3 Gulf War, 1991 Background Kuw
Page 58 and 59: 4 Map 8. Chemical, biological and
Page 60 and 61: 4 Following the Gulf War, UNSCOM co
Page 62 and 63: 4 UNSCOM - CORBIS Destroyed ed chem
Page 64 and 65: 4 A variety of studies have been co
Page 66 and 67: 4 PETER TURNLEY - CORBIS Burning oi
Page 68 and 69: 4 chemical analyses. Such analyses
Page 70 and 71: 4 Rehabilitation and compensation o
Page 74 and 75: 4 Of these, the first two are letha
Page 76 and 77: 4 Oil Trench Fires around Baghdad
Page 78 and 79: 4 Oil Well Fires from the Rumaila
Page 80 and 81: 4 CENTCOM IAEA inspectors had been
Page 82 and 83: 4 Iraqi Planning Ministry y during
Page 84 and 85: 5 Next steps 5.1 Overview The post-
Page 86 and 87: 5 Step 3. Integrate environmental p
Page 88 and 89: A Appendix A References and Interne
Page 90 and 91: A 14. Tehran Times 31; October 1999
Page 92 and 93: A 4 Environmental impacts of milita
Page 94 and 95: A 51. UNEP. 1993. Updated Scientifi
Page 96 and 97: A 102. http://www.washingtonpost.co
Page 98: www.unep.org United Nations Environ
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