Environmental impact of Gulf wars
Note: Various sources name these wars differently. For more information please read Gulf War (disambiguation).
Persian Gulf countries especially Kuwait and Iraq faced the most destroyable environmental disaster because of the behavior of the Iraqi government at that time, which was the main reason of the Gulf wars. Because of the previous, the environment is in poor condition and civilians were not spared of the effect of the wars. It brings many physical and mental disorders for civilians.
Wars
- The Iran–Iraq War from September 1980 to August 1988 killed hundreds of thousands.
- In 1991 Iraq invaded Kuwait claiming that Kuwait was a part of Iraq. and that Kuwait stole oil from it. This Gulf war resulted in operation Desert Storm in which Saddam Hussein was defeated. This was a much smaller war, and had an environmental impact.
- In April 2003, allies conquered Iraq. This again was a much smaller war than the first one, but security deteriorated afterwards.[1] This Gulf war also had an environmental impact.
The effects
Some people think the first victim of war always is the environment and human health. Wars make environmental disaster, kill sometimes millions of people, and make them suffer from disease. These wars also had environmental and health effects. Other people agree with US Senator Hiram Johnson that "The first casualty of War is Truth".
Environment
According to Elaph report the gulf war is one possible reason of the bad weather in gulf countries. The application of depleted-uranium-tipped projectiles in Kuwait and Iraq polluted the Arabian Desert and its divisions.[2]
After the first Gulf war the absorption of air pollutant has increased by 705 percent in Baghdad which is more by 887 percent than recommended by the World Health Organization. In addition, In the Gulf war II, the Kuwaiti oil fires caused a global problem and a hazard to humans. The smoke rose one to four kilometers high and blocked sun shine in Kuwait. The smoke reached United Arab Emirates and Iran. Some countries such as Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan reported black rain.
On January 21, 1991, Iraqi troops opened valves at the Persian Gulf releasing between four and eleven million oil barrels into the sea. Kuwaiti experts estimate the oil leaks made about 200 lakes. The oil in these pools evaporated, which is expected to create a thick sediment of oil. These residues will be absorbed by the desert causing unseen damage. Regarding these, the human health and the underground water will be at fatal situation. What is more, the number of aquatic animals and birds deficiency dramatically 100,000 -230,000 waterbirds and 100 mammals were killed.
The behavior of the Iraqi army has a destructive effect on the soil of the Persian Gulf region. Oil leak from fire wells mixed with gravel result in a new layer on the surface of the desert called “tarcrete” with depth of nine feet. All the plant life under these layers died and it is impossible for flora to grow there. However, scientists suggest to refrain from eliminating these layers as when removed, the dunes under the tarcrete will cause massive dunes to travel, destroying everything in their way.
Health
Gulf wars caused serious health problems in Persian Gulf countries. These are the most common health problems here.
Cancer
According to Jamail article the main reason of the rising number of Cancer and birth defects is Depleted Uranium and military weapons in Iraq. Official statistics show in figure 2 show a sharp increasing in the present age of cancer cases in Iraq. Even with this statistic the actual number is much higher and it could be double because of leaking of research and the private hospital. Also, Many people did not report on their case. After Gulf War I, many doctors think that the war pollution is probably the reason for the sharp increasing at the rate of cancer in Kuwait .
In 1995, Post-traumatic stress disorder was shockingly spread in Kuwait.27 percent of Kuwaiti and 86 percent of them are adult has this psychiatric disorder . 66 percent of those who diagnosable post-traumatic disorder were still dreaming nightmares about some war events. In addition, many boys were dreaming different dreams about Saddam trying to kill them or hurt their families. A client documentary movie meets some affected families .A boy saw his father tortures then killed by the Iraqi soldiers . After this the boy loses the ability to speak. Another affected victim has difficulty of speech because the Iraqi soldiers forced her to watch her two son`s killed by them.
Dr. Haddad and his colleagues noticed a sharp increase in congenital defects and infertility in Fallujah after it had been bombed by the Americans. Fallujah now has the highest rate of genetic damage in a population at all .Many children now born with two heads, one eye or problems in the nervous system. Scientists said that the rate is fourteen times worse than Hiroshima .
Many scientists believe that Depleted Uranium is the main reason of appearing new disease like new illnesses in the kidney, lungs, liver, and total immune system collapse. In addition, it has been noticed that the number of abortions higher in the busy area of military operations. Families are afraid to have babies . Moreover, because of the second Gulf War many new diseases spread in the region. Also, respiratory diseases increased horribly.
Prevention and treatment
Persian Gulf countries cooperate to clean up the ruin and prevent future havoc . This section of the report will mention what has been cleaned up and the future prevention.
Over the last decade volunteer Kuwaiti divers were busy cleaning the benthos. We had extracted two cannons and seven shell partners with ministry of defining Walid Al-Shatti the leader of the Kuwaiti Divers Association said. In addition, it is common to find a turtle caught in fishing nets. What is more, Saudi Aramco was one of the largest contributors to the cleaning process. It provides support to other Oil-response teams. It distributes protection equipment and materials . Moreover, many Saudi Aramco employees are involved in volunteer teams to clean up marine life.
Royal commission in Jubail has established a new program to monitor oil spill or any other chemical materials .In addition, it study the possibility of oil leakage and how can be stopped in an emergency situation . Also, Aramco makes a plan by storage additional antipollution equipment’s and ships. Moreover, Aramco always takes care about training their employees to face similar problems by using same machines that will be used in case of oil spill.
References
- ↑ "Persian Gulf Wars". The Columbia Encyclopedia,.
- ↑ Mughal, Muhammad Aurang Zeb. 2013. "Persian Gulf Desert and Semi-desert." Biomes & Ecosystems, Vol. 3, Robert Warren Howarth (ed.). Ipswich, MA: Salem Press, pp. 1000-1002.