Environmental impacts caused by Shuaiba Refinery (Southern Iraq) on the surrounding environment

Abstract

Abstract :Environmental pollution which is caused by the oil industry is one of the most serious problems that have negative effects on the environmental reality in general and the reflection of those effects on the health aspect in particular, starting from the exploration and prospection stage to the final consumption stage, therefore, it is necessary to study and determine the pollution rates caused by Al-Shuaiba refinery, describing it as one of the sources of environmental pollution in the Basra Governorate in general and the southwestern part in particular. The air pollutions were measured during the summer 2019 and winter 2020 seasons for ten sites inside and outside the refinery and they were represented by the gases ( CH4,NOx, CO2, CO), due to the effects of these gases in causing climate changes , in addition to oil hydrocarbons ( HC) . Also, the study of soil pollutions for the two aforementioned seasons by knowing the concentration of the heavy elements ( Ni, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd,Pb) because these elements are considered one of the reasons that lead to different diseases, especially cancerous disease, as well as oil hydrocarbons (HC) for six sites inside and outside the refinery and comparing all results with the permissible environmental determines.The results showed that air pollutant gases exceeded the permissible environmental limits in all sites and for the two studied seasons. Site (8) recorded the highest concentration of air pollutants because it is located directly below the source of emission, while site (5) recorded the lowest concentration of air pollutants due to it is location in the northwest of the refinery. As for the concentration of the heavy elements polluting the soil, all sites exceeded the permissible environmental limits, especially site (6) as it is directly under the influence of the refinery, while site ( 3), which is near the residential buildings of the refinery, was the least concentrated in the heavy elements. Therefore, the study recommends the necessity of following the appropriate plans and solutions that are represented in placing filters in the chimneys of the refinery in order to reduce the environmental pollutants emitted from them because of their dangerous effects.