How Saddam Hussein contaminated water aquifers in Kuwait

Introduction

The conflict that ensued during the gulf war saw the destruction of millions of barrels of crude oil, a significant number of which was destroyed in ways that had far reaching consequences on the environment. In an attempt to stop the United States from landing in Kuwait, the Iraqi forces, under Saddam Hussein’s leadership, dumped oil into the Persian Gulf to make the beach inaccessible. They also set about 732 oil wells on fire, decisions that had far reaching consequences for the environment especially because the oil continued to spill into the gulf months after the Iraqis had left. Although the actions taken by the Iraqis was mostly motivated by political reasons, the far reaching consequences that followed make Saddam Hussein responsible for the contamination of the Kuwait water quantifier as most of it resulted from the pollution caused by his battle strategy. His actions had far-reaching consequences mainly due to the severity of the oil spill and combustion; the consequences of the war; and the challenges involved in reconstructing Kuwait that made environmental sustainability less significant compared to other sectors that needed to be prioritized.

Background

            When the Iraqi, Led by Saddam, anticipated an invasion from the US, they decided to engage in one of the biggest cases of environmental terrorism as one of their battle strategies. To achieve their goal, they spilled oil from a refinery; two oil terminals; a tank field; and eight oil tankers (Barber, 2018). They also sought to make access to Kuwait through the coastline difficult by digging trenches along the beaches and filling them with oil. For a duration of three months, oil continued to flow into the gulf from barrels spilled by the Iraqis (Barber, 2018). The oil that accumulated in the gulf led to the emergence of oil lakes and oil that was contaminated by the huge amount of crude oil spilled. More pollution was cause by runoff water as it carried contaminants that settled on the surface of the soil from the oil spillage and burnt crude oil and resulted to the ground water becoming contaminated with Hydrocarbon.

            Saddam Hussein’s final act of war during the gulf war involved the use of oil to make the region inaccessible to the invaders. The oil spilled during these time posed major risks to the survival of those left as it had the potential to contaminate the ground water resources that provided water to residents in Kuwait (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). Areas that had usable ground water in Kuwait were more at risk of being contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons because the water existed in very shallow depths. Being a semi-arid region, water was a rather scarce commodity in Kuwait and the residents mostly relied on sea water made usable by water desalination plants. During the period of the Gulf war, the region relied on two major aquifers that provided usable water to the region which was sourced from the underflow originating in Saudi Arabia and also precipitation.

            The scarcity of water combined with the large region covered by the oil after the actions by the Iraqis greatly threatened the sustainability of the environment. The harmful products resulting from oil combustion covered over 1722 kilometers, which is roughly 10 percent of Kuwait’s total area. (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003) The consequences were further intensified by the 300 oil lakes that formed as a result of the oil spilled and although some of the oil was recovered and exported for use, majority of the oil was left contaminating the soil and water in the aquifer as recovering it was deemed uneconomic.

Challenges faced

• Oil spill

The pollution of the environment that resulted to the contamination of the Kuwait water aquifer originated from the Iraqis use of crude oil as a weapon. Under Saddam’s leadership, the Iraqis spilled millions of barrels of oil which stretched to about 1500 kilometers along the gulf’s coastline (Akber et al, 2008). The effects of the oils spilled were intensified by the wells that were burnt for 9 months consecutively, causing air temperatures to drop by 10 degrees C to the point where only partial light from the sun reached the earth’s surface. During the war, over 80 ships were destroyed and sunk into the Gulf, emptying their content into the water, most of which was oil and ammunitions that further polluted the water (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). In the end, the Kuwait water aquifers in North Kuwait were contaminated, a man made oil trench stretching over 4.7 kilometers was created and the balance for the regions desert eco system was destroyed (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003).

Effects of the war

Fighting in Saddam’s war also led to the dumping of more than 50,000 cubic meters of raw sewage on a daily basis after the sewage treatment plan in Kuwait was destroyed (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). He also imposed economic sanctions that made it difficult to control the effects of the Gulf war and the damage it caused to the environment. During the war most of the resources were allocated towards increasing the chances for success. When the war was over, the damages caused also meant that environmental preservation did not get the attention it deserved as more pressing matters needed to be attended to (Barber, 2018). The severe consequences resulting from the war meant that the pollution would continue until issues of pressing concern were resolved before trying to undo the damage that had be caused by the oil spill and combustion.

• Challenges involved in recovery.

The extent of the oil spillage and combustion further meant that the pollution would continue to worsen even after the Iraqis had left. Eight years after the Gulf War, more than ten million cubic meters of the soil in Kuwait was still contaminated following the actions undertaken by Saddam and his men (UNNC, n.d). The extent of the destruction was so severe that, despite all actions to reduce water pollution in the region, two fifths of the fresh water reserves in Kuwait still remain contaminated even today. Most of the oil spilled by Saddam’s men during the Gulf War made its way south down the coastline while the rest settled in Abu Ali Island. Any attempts to prevent the pollution caused were hindered by the conditions that existed in Kuwait during and after the war as well as the reconstruction that was undertaken to restore the region to its former state (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). Rather than taking action to prevent further pollution, those responsible for cleaning up after Saddam’s environmental act of terrorism had to wait until enough resources were allocated to aid in recovering the oil spilled and finding ways to reduce pollution.

The delayed action meant that the oil spilled of to a larger area. The oil spilled in water also spread, affecting the marine life and also the Kuwait water aquifer as it was replenished by the same water source that the oil was deposited in (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). A year after Saddam had lost the Gulf war, his actions were still causing negative repercussions as oil was still spilling out and contaminating the coastal sediments. Even after most of the oil floating on the surface of water reservoirs had been recovered, smaller bits of oil continued to slip into the water source and caused further pollution.

Repercussions

            Saddam Hussein was responsible for the contamination of the Kuwait Water Aquifer during the Gulf War between Kuwait and Iraq because the pollution caused by the actions undertaken by his soldiers made its way to the water reservoirs, polluting the water in it as well as the sources that replenished the aquifers (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). The aquifers were contaminated by the different forms of pollution that the Iraqis triggered before leaving Kuwait. Some of the hydrocarbon pollutants made their way into the aquifers when the crude oil deposited in the pits and lakes infiltrated into the reservoirs. The oil mixed with the water reserved in the aquifers, polluting and this made it unusable to the regions inhabitants.  

            The extent of the pollution was further intensified by the runoff water from rainfall that was infused with the hydrocarbon pollutants on the soil surface which then slipped into the water reservoirs (Tutton, 2010). Regardless of where the oil was spilled or burnt, the rain water carried the oil along with the hydrocarbon pollutants and deposited them into the different water reservoirs such as the aquifers in North Kuwait. Other than rain water, the water that was used to extinguish the oil fires also infiltrated into the reservoirs since it was responsible for replenishing the aquifers. This combined with the oil leakage from the oil casings that were damaged intensified the extent of the pollution.

Current situation

            Although the Brackish water fields in Kuwait have been cleared of any hydrocarbon pollution, a lot of effort is still needed to get rid of the pollution caused by Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War. The fresh water accumulated in the Umm Al-Aish region and the Ruaudhatain depression in the South Eastern part of Kuwait are both contaminated with hydrocarbon and the oil that was deposited in the sea water (McLaren & Wilmore, 2003). The pollution continues to make most of the regions unsafe especially because the low levels of PAH recorded in some parts that were polluted does not necessarily mean that the ground water is free from the hydrocarbon pollutants especially because of the biochemical activities that take place in the region as well as the high ambient temperatures.

            Furthermore, there is still residual oil that sank to the bottom of the sea and could cause more pollution in future. Although most of the oil was recovered using various methods, one of which involved evaporating or dissolving the oil to separate it from water, there are remnants of the oil that remained in the water sources (Tutton, 2010). The existence of heavier oil factions meant that some of the oil could not be dissolved or evaporated and the oil ended up sinking into the coastal sediments. In the occurrence of an erosive action by the currents that move along the coast, the oil trapped in the sand could be released and cause more contamination of the water reservoirs, including those that have already been cleared of all contaminants.

             There is also the possibility that the pollution fumes could spread to the fresh water that has accumulated in the northern parts of Kuwait, causing even more damage despite the long duration of time that has passed since the oil was spilled (Tutton, 2010). If no corrective action is taken, the pollution plumes could accumulate over time and make their way through the prevalent hydraulic gradient and end up in the north east region of Kuwait. If such an outcome was to happen, the hydrocarbon pollutants could spread further north and cause more pollution, increasing the extent of Saddam’s reach.

Conclusion

            The actions that Saddam Hussein and his army engaged in during the gulf war and the time right before the end of the war led to pollution of the water, soil, air and environment in Kuwait. The oil spilled and combined with the reservoirs and oil tanks burnt led to a lot of oil being dumped in water bodies and also on land. Though naturally occurring phenomena such as runoff water from the rain pushed the oil and hydrocarbon pollutants into the water sources including the Kuwait water aquifer. The decision to use oil as a weapon to slow down the enemy’s progress also caused great destruction to the environment not just during the war but also in the years that followed. The difficulty in recovering the oil meant that more pollution took place and the contamination in the aquifer increased in intensity as time progressed. Although the oil spills and combustion came to an end shortly after the Iraqis left, the consequences and impact that the actions had on the water aquifer in Kuwait were as a result of Saddam Hussein’s involvement in the Gulf War. Although his actions were intended to help him win the war, it does not take away from the impact his decisions had on the environment and therefore have him accountable for the contamination of the water aquifers in Kuwait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Akber A, Awadi A, Mukhopadhyay A, and Quinn M, (2008) “Ground water contamination in      Kuwait resulting from the 1991 Gulf War: A preliminary assessment” Research Gate,       DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6592.2008.00195.x

Barber N, (2018) “1991 Gulf War oil spill” Stanford University, retrieved from,             http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2018/ph240/barber1/

McLaren D and Willmore I, (2003) “The environmental damage of war in Iraq” The Guardian,    retrieved from, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/19/iraq5

Tutton M, (2010) “Lessons learnt from the largest oil spill in history” CNN

United Nations Compensation Commission, (n.d) “State of Kuwait” retrieved from,             https://uncc.ch/state-kuwait