Amidst the debris..

© REUTERS/Hamid Khatib
A man works at a makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village in Raqqa’s countryside May 5, 2013.
diseases in areas were crude oil has been stolen 80 . The products from artisanal refineries may
be particularly hazardous and the Free Syrian Army and the Asala wa al-Tanmia Front have
both warned against, or even prohibited, the setting up of make-shift refineries 81 . Communities
living in proximity to the sites are likely to have been affected, and their impact of health and the
environment should be investigated 82 .
Damage to industrial areas
HAZARDS RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL AREAS
The true extent of the environmental and health risks created by attacks on, or damage to,
industrial sites are hard to assess without field observations, on-site measurements, and
long-term health assessment. Documented cases indicate that the impacts can vary greatly,
depending on the type of industry targeted, the type and severity of damage and a range of
other variables. NATO airstrikes on a petrochemical plant in Pancevo in 1999 released toxic
substances, including vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), ethylene dichloride (EDC) and metallic
mercury 83 . This led to soil, surface and groundwater, and air pollution and threatened the health
of workers at the complex. There have been reports of so-called Pancevo cancer, which is
thought to be angiosarcoma of the liver, potentially linked to exposure to high levels of VCM 84 .
In Lebanon, UNEP found that attacks on industrial facilities, such as a detergent factory, a
textile factory and a food and juice company, often led to localised, measurable soil and water
contamination. The environmental and health risk was generally low and remained local, yet it
could have caused wider water contamination if left unattended after the hostilities had ended.
26 PAX ! Amidst the debris...