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Testing the waste matters of Abadan oil refinery from
the
Gaissy area
Has
revealed a severe imminent threat to
Shadegan International wetland
Translated by: Mahin Sorouri

The
time to break the code of silence and propose a plan for the
Neutralization of the poisonous wastes is now.
In the fall of 2004,
while constructing a boulevard in Abadan, 35000 cubic meter of oil
refinery waste were dug out and in utter disregard to their poisonous
nature were dumped in the waters of Shadegan , an internationally
known wetland. This was done in accordance with
the Mayor’ s order and
surveillance.
For
over sixty years, since the beginning of the Abadan oil refinery, the
waste material were dumped in an area far away from the city called
Gaissy land and were covered up with earth. Eventually this area
became part of the city of Abadan (due to its growth) and for years
the poignant odors of the evaporating gases from these waste matters
caused discomfort to people, particularly in summer time. After the
partial digging of them, some still remain under the houses and
schools.
The test results of
50
grams of the dug out waste matter showed that it is composed of %
63
oil hydrocarbon and % 37 elements and metals .The following table show
these elements and theirs respective percentages.
S |
Si |
Al |
Mg |
Na |
32.0 % |
0.586 % |
0.271% |
0.436 % |
0.570 % |
Cr |
Ti |
Ca |
K |
Cl |
0.0185 % |
0.0250 % |
1.59 % |
0.183 % |
0.471 % |
Ravyleigh |
Compton
|
Cu |
Fe |
Mn |
0.71 |
0.17 |
0.000282 % |
0.961 % |
0.0173 % |
sum= 37.45 |
According to the test findings:
a)
%63 were oil
hydrocarbon, a by- product of refining oil. During testing there was
constant reduction of the weight of the sample due to the evaporation
of its gases. In the process of refining oil the aromatic hydrocarbon
are formed mainly as Banzen and Toluene gases.
b)
%32 was Sulfur
used as catalyst in the oil refining process. Chemically Sulfur bonds
with oxygen and hydrogen to form SO2 and SH2 gases respectively, while
aquatic environment turns both of them into acids.
c)
%5 of the
sample were made of elements and metals, such as Chromium, Cupper,
Aluminum and others.
The
sample percentages of poisonous gases in particular Banzen and
Toluene, Sulfur by- products and the dangerous metals such as chromium
shown in the table will reach quite astonishing proportion when one
imagines that 35000cubic meter of them were dumped in the waters of
Shadegan Wetland, which hosts rare birds, unique plants, fishes and
other aquatic species.
In the open air,
Banzen, Toluene and other oil- hydrocarbons are generally volatile and
due to the atmospheric changes such as rain, wind and evaporation they
are moved around. But in water they form dangerous
Phenol compounds. Breathing or coming
in contact with Banzen gas will cause blood abnormalities and cancer.
These gases, after entering the body, through oxidation process form phenol in the liver. Breathing
Banzen will cause serious malfunction of the central nervous system.
Breathing it for long period of time causes tiredness, head ache and
loss of appetite, while coming in contact with them causes allergies,
certain skin disorders such as burns, congestions and arythm. Toluene
gas and its dangerous compounds create poisonous conditions
particularly in water.
Beside
the danger of breathing Sulfur Oxide (SO2), its compounds in water
turn into acids and by changing the PH of the water create a poisonous
acidic environment that will eventually ruin the wetland’s plant life.
The exact same dangers exist for SH2 gas and its poisonous acids in
water.
Chromium exists in two forms in nature. One group (with the valence of
3) is not harmful to humans and environnment , even sometimes they are
beneficial. While the second group (with the valence of 6) in an
acidic environment is quite harmful and causes cancer of the gastric
and pulmonary tracts. About 10mg of Chromium in 1kg of food -stuff
will cause the digestive and renal discomfort and will upset the blood
building capacity of the body.
This
study only reveals limited range of the damage caused by the Gaissy
incident to Shadgan wetland. Based on this, and due to the fact that
Shadegan wetland opens into Persian Gulf more studies should be
conducted in the future to show the full scope of imminent danger to
the wetland’ s echo system and its debilitating long-term effect on
the environment of the whole area.
Earth
Watchers ‘Center, which has been following the Abadan incident
closely, believes that Mayor and his staff should have conducted the
preliminary, necessary tests to find out more about the chemical
composition of the pollutants and to look for possible ways of
neutralizing them, in which case they could have avoided facing
environmental pollution of such magnitude with all its complications
and problems. Unfortunately this pattern of starting major projects
without the required preliminary surveys and studies has become a norm
rather than exception, and has cost us loss of live and loss of
national wealth.
It is
very unfortunate that none of the officials or organs of the
Environmental Protection Organization, on the local or national level,
have shown any concern so far, except that they have chosen to remain
silent.
At the
six environmental exhibition of Tehran, EWC presented the sample from
Gaissy land that attracted plenty of the visitors’ attention. Mrs.
Ebtekar(Director of the Environmental Protection Org. ) and Mr.
Zangeneh ((the Oil Minister) had also a chance to personally see it
and smell it too.
Earth Watchers Center - August 2005
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