NCJ Number
143393
Journal
EPA Journal Dated: (August 1991) Pages: 23-26
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
When Iraq deliberately spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf during its war with Kuwait in 1991, the United States and international community responded quickly to help Kuwait and its neighbors deal with the threats to public health and to the region's ecology.
Abstract
The U.S. Interagency Assistance Team (USIAT), aided by experts from the U.K., Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands, worked to keep the oil away from desalination plants, to remove the oil from the surface before it could settle near plant intakes and become part of the ocean water inflow system, and to protect environmentally sensitive areas and key shoreline facilities. The Saudis considered using bioremediation techniques to help rid beaches and wetlands of their oil covering. A team from the Environmental Protection Agency traveled to Saudi Arabia to monitor smog and air pollution in the wake of the oil fires set by Iraq. The team concluded that the air contained only insignificant amounts of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide; admissions to Kuwait's clinics and hospitals have shown no increase in patients with respiratory complaints. With help from the EPA, Kuwait and other Gulf nations are installing permanent monitoring systems and early warning networks and intend to study the long-term environmental effects of the oil spills and fires.