Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
An Unprecedented Oil Spill
The environmental damage caused by the war occurred on an unprecedented scale. On 20 January 1991, the third
day of the war, Iraqi forces opened the valves at Kuwait's Mina al-Ahmadi Sea Island Terminal, intentionally re-
leasing millions of litres of oil into the Gulf. The resulting oil slick was 64km wide and 160km long. Between six
and eight million barrels of oil are thought to have been released, at least twice as much as in any previous oil
spill. At least 460km of coastline, most of it in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, was affected, with devastating conse-
quences for the region's cormorants, migratory birds, dolphins, fish, turtles and large areas of mangrove.
Fire and Devastation of Wildlife
The systematic torching of 699 of the emirate's oil wells contributed to the environmental disaster. By the time
the war ended, nearly every well was burning. At a conservative estimate, at least two million barrels of oil per
day were lost - equivalent to about 5% of the total daily world consumption. One to two million tonnes of carbon
dioxide streamed into the air daily, resulting in a cloud that turned day into night across the country.
Like the slick, the fires devastated wildlife throughout the region, but they also had a direct impact on public
health. Black, greasy rain caused by the fires was reported as far away as India, and the incidence of asthma in-
creased in the Gulf region.
Efficient and Collaborative Clean-Up
The slick was fought by experts from nine nations and oil companies managed to recover, and reuse, about a mil-
lion barrels of crude oil from the slick. Initial reports that it would take five years to put all the fires out proved
pessimistic. A determined international effort, combined with considerable innovation on the part of the firefight-
ers, extinguished the fires in eight months. The crews did the job so fast that one well had to be reignited so the
emir of Kuwait could `put out the final fire' for reporters in November 1991.
Blooms of Hope in the Desert
Cleaning up the 65 million barrels of oil, spilt in 300 oil lakes covering around 50 sq km of desert, was not so
speedily effected. In a joint project between the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) and the Japanese
Petroleum Energy Center (JPEC), a bio-remediation project was launched to rehabilitate the oil-polluted soil.
Through a variety of biological processes, which included composting and bioventing, more than 4000 cubic
metres of contaminated soil were treated, resulting in soil of such high quality that it was good enough for land-
scaping and could be used as topsoil.
The
Japanese Garden in Al-Ahmadi
is a showcase for the miracle `oil soil'. The garden's `blooms of hope'
are a testimony to international cooperation and the ability of man and nature to outwit the worst that disaster can
throw at them. The gardens are currently undergoing rejuvenation.
