Environmental impact of the Gulf wars

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Environmental impact of Gulf wars
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Burning oil field, framed between the body and gun of a wrecked tank
Disabled tank and burning oil field

The

Persian Gulf countries, especially Kuwait and Iraq, faced serious environmental disasters
after the wars.

Environmental impacts, due to the war along with the deployment of chemical agents, involve harmful repercussions on both the natural environment and the health of the population of the whole region.

This article presents the effects of the Gulf War and Iraq War on the environment and nature, and the impacts on the population and specifically veterans' health.

Wars timeline

The effects

Environment

The environmental impact of the Gulf War of 1991 was unprecedented. Huge quantities of crude oil, going up to approximately 3.5 million tons, were released into the desert, while another 800,000 tons of oil spilled into the Persian Gulf.[2] 

Consequently, the burning oil wells created 250 oil lakes covering approximately 50 square kilometers in the desert due to the sixty million barrels of oil that came from the burning oil wells.[3]

As a result, between six and eight million barrels of oil are estimated to be at the core of marine environment pollution.[4]

By the February 27th ceasefire, the Saudi coast had suffered extensive damage over a distance of more than 100 miles. In this regard, oil, up to 15 inches deep in certain areas, devastated the nesting grounds of endangered sea turtles, birds, fisheries, and shrimp-spawning areas.[5] Beaches, tide pools, and seagrass beds had been damaged, and thousands of rare herons, flamingos, and other bird species were killed.[5]

Furthermore, the Sea Island Terminal oil spill on January 25, 1991, off the Saudi coast, was estimated to cover a stretch of approximately 10–15 miles during the Gulf War ceasefire.[6] The second major oil slick occurred off the Kuwaiti-Saudi coast, also originating from the Mina al Bakr offshore terminal of Iraq, with a length of about 10 miles. By February 26, 1991, more than 600 oil wells were burning, thereby forming a thick smoke that engulfed the region and resulted in a significant drop in the temperatures in Kuwait.

Moreover, the environmental repercussions extended over 1000 kilometres away to southern Turkey, where black acidic rain fell in March 1991. This rain was a result of carbon particles from the burning Kuwaiti oil fires, carried by winds and affecting countries like Iraq, Iran, and Syria.   In addition, Iran experienced water supply and crop irrigation issues due to the black rain, as well.[7]

The 1991 Gulf War entailed further environmental consequences, such as damage to sewage treatment plants in Kuwait, leading to the release of nearly 50,000 cubic meters of raw sewage into Kuwait Bay daily.[8]

Eventually, approximately 800 oil wells in Kuwait kept on burning in Kuwait for several months, leading to the release of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, radium, hydrogen carbons, and hydrogen sulfide.[9]

The atmospheric pollution resulting from the oil fires had health implications for humans, as it led to an increase in oil-related heavy metals in the brain, including indicating nickel, vanadium, selenium, and cobalt in brain tumours, which can cause DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, as evidenced by airborne dust samples collected after the war.[10]

Health

The use of chemicals agents

During the Gulf Wars, the populations were exposed to chemical agents. Indeed, chemicals agent, for example Depleted Uranium (DU), was used for the first time during the first Gulf War in the tank kinetic energy penetrator or autocannon rounds.

After the Gulf Wars, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and various research organizations have been assessing potential causes of health issues among veterans, including exposure to chemical and biological weapons.

Nonetheless, the use of chemical agents by both the US Army and Iraqi forces remains to date a subject of debate. In 1997, the US government published a report that states that:

"The
US Intelligence Community (IC) has assessed that Iraq did not use chemical weapons during the Gulf War. However, based on a comprehensive review of intelligence information and relevant information made available by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), we conclude that chemical warfare (CW) agent was released as a result of the US postwar demolition of rockets with chemical warheads in a bunker (called Bunker 73 by Iraq) and a pit in an area known as Khamisiyah."[11]

For example, over 100,000[12] Gulf War Veterans have been exposed to these nerve agents chemicals during the demolition of a munitions storage depot in Khamisiyah.

A study by the Boston School of Public Health has revealed a correlation between veterans deployed in Iraq and the reporting of post-war health symptoms. After their return from the Persian Gulf War, many veterans experienced health symptoms and medical problems. This report states that:

"Persian Gulf-deployed veterans were more likely to report neurological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiac, dermatological, musculoskeletal, psychological and neuropsychological system symptoms than German veterans."[13]

Gulf War Syndrome

The US Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Academy of Science (NAS) released multiple reports on the Gulf war illnesses, following the conclusion of the Gulf Wars.

According to a 2007 report on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) [14] Veterans in Iraq were exposed to various chemical agents including DU, pesticides, nerve gas sarin, and multiple vaccinations.

The report from Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC)[15] established the link between neurological veterans' illnesses and the exposure neurotoxins.

The term "Gulf War illness" or "

Anthrax vaccine and combat stress
.

Cancer

In the decade following Gulf War I, veterans and Iraqi physicians reported a sharp increase in severe health problems, including cancer, which were attributed to the use of depleted uranium bullets by the United States.[17] Depleted uranium is known to be carcinogenic and has been associated with neurologic health problems.[18][19]

As a consequence of weapons testing, military research, and the extensive use of approximately 1200 tonnes of munitions during the war, Iraq was left grappling with depleted uranium contamination, resulting in elevated levels in the soil.[19] Therefore, by 2012, the incidence of lung and breast cancer, Leukemia, and Lymphoma cases had doubled to tripled in many areas of Iraq. The presence of contaminated soil likely affected human health through the food chain, presenting long-term radiation hazards.[19]

Post-traumatic Stress disorder

In 1995,

documentary movie
about affected families was made. A boy saw his father tortured and then killed by the Iraqi soldiers; after this, the boy lost the ability to speak. Another affected victim has speech problems because Iraqi soldiers forced her to watch her two sons killed.

Fertility Problems

Source:[20]

Some studies point out a link between fertility problems and the Gulf wars. US veterans from the Gulf Wars faced risks of infertility.[21] Indeed, research shows that deployed veterans during the Gulf wars faced issues concerning fertility, conceptions or live births, and pregnancy fathered problems[21]

In times of war, the fertility of the population is also affected. Researches show that the fertility trend in Iraq was in decline, and the war emphasize this trend.

congenital defects and infertility.[23] Many children were born with nervous system
problems.

Cleanup

The Persian Gulf countries have a proven record of cooperating towards cleaning up the Gulf ruin and preventing future havoc.

For instance, over the years volunteer Kuwaiti divers have been cleaning the

teams, distributing protection equipment and materials. Moreover, many Saudi Aramco employees were involved in volunteer teams to clean up marine life
.

The Royal Commission in

Aramco
stores additional anti-pollution equipment and ships.

Furthermore, the Gulf Area cleaning endeavours persist nowadays and further extend to the international agenda and fall within the efforts to meet the 14th sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. [25]

Legal liability for the Environmental Damage of Gulf Wars: the UNCC Mechanism

Within a span of two months after the end of the 1990-1991 Gulf War, an unprecedented post-war mechanism called the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was established, marking a significant development in the history of international armed conflicts. The primary objective of this mechanism was not only to assist neighbouring nations in recovering from the extensive personal and financial damages incurred during the war but also to facilitate the restoration of the environmental harm that had been inflicted.[26]

In fact, the Gulf Wars gave the impetus to foster public debate about further law-making in the international environmental field and filling the gaps of a legal regime considered unsatisfactory by the environmental community. [27]

In this perspective, after the conflict, it was expected that neighboring countries would receive reparations for the damages caused, and Iraq's oil revenues were seen as a viable source of funding. To address this, the UNCC was established with the objective of processing claims and providing compensation for losses and harm resulting from Iraq's illegal invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The 2.69 million claims that were processed were categorized based on the claimant and the type of compensation sought.[28]

Other than multiple aspects such as personal injuries, fatalities, financial losses suffered by individuals, expenses incurred by neighbouring countries for hosting refugees, as well as damage to businesses and government properties, environmental damage and depletion of natural resources also fell under the "F4" sub-category.[29]

Through various expert panels, evaluated 170 F4 claims originating from 12 countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the UK, and the USA) and awarded a total of US$5,261 million to 10 countries. This amount constituted only 6.2% of the total claims made and was paid out in five instalments over a span of five years.[30]

However, even though claims from the Netherlands and Turkey were unsuccessful and did not receive compensation, stringent oversight measures were implemented to ensure that the funds were utilized as specified, with regular reporting being conducted. To this date, all payments have now been concluded, although certain projects have taken more time than others to be finalized.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Persian Gulf Wars". The Columbia Encyclopedia.
  2. S2CID 156362940
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  6. ^ https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/S0020860400071151a.pdf
  7. JSTOR 43882945
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  8. ^ "The environmental damage of war in Iraq". The Guardian. 19 January 2003.
  9. JSTOR 44519245
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  12. ^ Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health. "Chemical & Biological Weapons during Gulf War - Public Health". www.publichealth.va.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. PMID 10024195
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  14. ^ "Committee on Veterans Affairs: Hearings". 2013-02-27. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  15. ^ "Scientific Progress in Understanding Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses: Report and Recommendations" (PDF). United States Department of Veterans Affairs. September 2004. Archived (PDF)from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
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  20. ^ "Pooky's five steps to sustainable lighting". Pooky Lighting. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
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  23. ^ Jamail, Dahr. "Fallujah: New kind of siege". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  24. ^ "Kuwait Diving Team continues cooperation with UN bureau to maintain clean sea". KUNA. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Cleaning the coast of the Persian Gulf". Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  26. ^ Payne, Cymie, and Peter Sand (eds), Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Environmental Liability (New York, 2011; online edn, Oxford Academic, 20 Apr. 2015), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199732203.001.0001, accessed 25 May 2023.
  27. ^ https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/irrc-879-bothe-bruch-diamond-jensen.pdf
  28. ^ "PRESS RELEASE UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION PAYS OUT US$270 MILLION" (PDF). United Nations Compensation Commission. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  29. ^ https://uncc.ch/claims
  30. ^ file:///Users/letiziaferhati/Downloads/_book_edcoll_9789047421917_Bej.9789004161566.i-1188_011-preview.pdf
  31. ^ https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1111632#:~:text=The%20UNCC%E2%80%99s%20Governing%20Council%20convened%20a%20special%20session,occupation%20of%20Kuwait%2C%20under%20former%20dictator%20Saddam%20Hussein.