Chemical and physical properties of emissions from Kuwait oil fires

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:7024356

Stevens, R; Pinto, J; Mamane, Y; Ondov, J; Abdulraheem, M

After the Iraqi retreat from Kuwait in 1991, airborne sampling was conducted in the oil fire plumes near Kuwait City and ground-level samples were taken of the air within the city. For the airborne sampling, a versatile air pollution sampler was used to determine the SO(2), elemental concentrations, the aerosol mass loadings and SO4(2-) and NO3(1-) concentrations. Striking differences between the black and white plumes were associated with high concentrations of NaCl and CaCl(2) measured in the white plumes and large numbers of carbon chain agglomerates in the black plumes. For the ground-based measurements, an annular denuder system was used to determine levels of SO(2), SO4(2-), trace elements, and mass loadings. Certain pollutant levels rose in the city during inversion conditions, when winds were too weak to continue moving the combustion products directly to the Persian Gulf, and the increased levels of Pb and certain trace elements were comparable to those in other large urban areas in Europe.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States). Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Lab.
• OSTI ID: 7024356
• Report Number(s): PB-92-206481/XAB; EPA--600/A-92/148
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ASIA
CALCIUM CHLORIDES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM HALIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COLLOIDS
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FIRES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
KUWAIT
LEAD
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
MIDDLE EAST
MINERAL RESOURCES
MONITORING
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OIL FIELDS
OIL WELLS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PLUMES
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
RESOURCES
SMOKES
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLS
SOOT
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
TRACE AMOUNTS
WELLS