Persian Gulf War | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

The Persian Gulf War in 1991 had a variety of environmental consequences for the Middle East. The most devastating of these effects were from the oil spills and oil fires deliberately committed by the Iraqi army. There were extensive press coverage of these events at the time, and the United States accused the Iraqis of "environmental terrorism." These accusations were seen by some as propaganda effort, and there was almost certainly some political motivation to both how the damage was estimated and how it was characterized during the war. But it is clear now that the note of outrage often struck by the Allies was not out of place. The devastation, though not as extensive as originally supposed, was still substantial.

The Iraqis began discharging oil into the Persian Gulf from the Sea Island Terminal and other supertanker terminals off the coast of Kuwait on January 23, 1991. Allied bombers tried to limit the damage by striking at pipelines carrying oil to these locations, but the flow continued throughout the war. Estimates of the size of the spill have varied widely and the controversy still continues, with a number of diplomatic and political pressures preventing many government agencies from committing themselves to specific figures. But it now seems likely that this was the worst oil spill in history, probably 20 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and twice the size of the 1979 spill from the blowout of Ixtoc I well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Whatever the actual size of the spill, it occurred in an area that was already one of the most polluted in the world. Oil spills and oil dumping are common in the Persian Gulf; it has been estimated that as many as two million barrels of oil are spilled in these waters every year. Some ecologists believe that the ecosystem in the area has a certain amount of resistance to the effects of pollution. Other scientists have maintained that the high level of salinity in the Gulf will prevent the oil from having many long-term effects and that the warm water will increase the speed at which the oildegrades. But the Gulf has a slow circulation system and large areas are very shallow; many scientists and environmentalists have predicted that it will be many years before the water can clear itself.

The spill killed thousands of birds within months after it began, and it had an immediate and drastic effect on commercial fishing in the region. Oil soaked miles of coastline; coral reefs and wetlands were damaged, and the seagrass beds of the Gulf were considered particularly vulnerable. Mangrove swamps, migrant birds, and endangered species such as green turtles and the dugong, or sea cow, are still threatened by the effects of the spill. The Saudi Arabian government has protected the water they draw from the Gulf for desalinization, but little has been done to limit or alleviate the environmental damage. This has been the result, at least in part, of a shortage of resources during and after the war, as well as obstacles such as floating mines and shallow waters which restricted access for boats carrying cleanup equipment.

At the end of the war, the retreating Iraqi army set over 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire. When the last burning well was extinguished on November 6, 1991, these fires had been spewing oil smoke into the atmosphere for months, creating a cloud which spread over the countries around the Gulf and into parts of Asia. It was thought at the time that the cloud of oil smoke would rise high enough to cause global climatic changes. Carl Sagan and other scientists, who had first proposed the possibility of a nuclear winter as one of the consequences of a nuclear war, believed that rain patterns in Asia and parts of Europe would be affected by the oil fires, and they predicted failed harvests and widespread starvation as a result. Though there was some localized cooling in the Middle East, these kinds of global predictions did not occur, but the smoke from the fire has still been an environmental disaster for the region. Air quality levels have caused extensive health problems, and acid rain and acid deposition have damaged millions of acres of forests in Iran.

The oil fires and oil spills were not the only environmental consequences of the Persian Gulf War. The movement of troops and military machinery, especially tanks, damaged the fragile desert soils and increased wind erosion. Wells sabotaged by the Iraqis released large amounts of oil that was never ignited, and lakes of oil as large as half a mile wide formed in the desert. These lakes continue to pose a hazard for animals and birds, and tests have shown that the oil is seeping deeper into the ground, causing long-term contamination and perhaps, eventually, leaching into the Gulf.

Gulf War Syndrome

Peck, L. "The Spoils of War." The Amicus Journal 3 (Spring 1991): 6–9.

Zimmer, C. "Ecowar." Discover 13 (January 1992): 37–39.

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