Kuwait Oil Fires (1991): Searching for Long-range Deposits on Heritage

During the Gulf War, the environment in Kuwait and neighboring countries suffered damage from oil well fires that burned for months, releasing airborne contaminants. Typically, burning crude oil produces smoke containing a large number of particulate and gaseous species such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, acidic aerosols, and soot. The effects of air pollution on cultural heritage are well-known, being soiling and blackening the most conspicuous deterioration process. Iranian authorities claimed that in some provinces the cultural heritage was severely damaged as a consequence of the smoke produced by the fires. The United Nations Compensation Commission issued its final report on awards of compensation for environmental and public health damage resulting from Iraq's 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait on June 30, 2005. No compensation for Iran's claim for damage to cultural heritage was awarded due to insufficient evidence regarding nature and extent of damage and the contribution of other factors, such as local sources of pollution from motor vehicle emissions, regional oil refining, and human occupation of historic sites. This chapter investigates in detail the cause of soiling and blackening in archaeological sites and monuments of Khuzestan and Fars provinces (Iran), which were claimed to have been affected by oil well fires. The potential damage to heritage of this episode is also discussed in relation to the chemical composition of emissions and the coverage area of the smoke plume.