The spread of oil refineries has created humanitarian and environmental disasters

Hadia Mansour

May10, 2018

Um Mohammed took her 3-year-old son, Mohammed, to a field hospital in Idlib, a large city in northwestern Syria. He was suffering from chronic inflammation in his lungs due to the smell of crude oil refineries used by some businessmen to produce and supply diesel fuel, gasoline and kerosene. She told Suwar that they didn’t “know that the process of crude oil refining could harm our children."

The use of basic, locally made oil refineries has spread significantly in Idlib and its countryside, due to the urgent need to obtain petroleum products. Unfortunately, this phenomenon has had more negative effects than positive ones. They have caused pain and suffering to people, plants and animals alike, especially as their use has spread within city limits and residential neighborhoods.

Mohamed El-Khalid, 39, a petroleum engineer from rural Idlib explained to Suwar why the use of these refineries has increased and how they work; “Since late 2011, the regime has laid siege to opposition-controlled areas and cut them off from receiving basic necessities because of their support for the revolution.” He added that this included “banning petroleum products, such as kerosene for home use.” The severe need for fuel led residents “to look for alternative sources of fuel, which wasn’t easy at first. So, the people took to deforesting, to use the lumber for heating and cooking purposes,” according to al-Khalid.

Al-Khalid added, "As the revolution progressed, the opposition was able to gain control over some oil wells, which provided Idlib’s residents with access to crude oil. The crude oil was at first used as-is, without being refined. But some local residents formulated the idea of developing makeshift refineries that are based on the process of heating, cooling and separating crude oil. These refineries are operated by lighting a fire in a hole under a metal pot, which produces foul odors and poisonous gases. But recently, they’ve started to use electric kilns, with an internal combustion system and a filter for the smells. The process also requires a small pool of water and a system to burn off the resulting gases. These refineries were designed to first sort out gasoline, then kerosene, followed by diesel, with only grease remaining at the end of the process.” Al-Khalid also pointed out that some producers are also able to create petroleum products by refining plastic as well. 

Imad al-Hussam, 48 and a member of the local council of the small village Ma'arat al-Na'asan just north of Idlib, spoke to Suwar about the presence of these refineries in the area, telling us that there are “more than 150 refineries in the area, with each refinery requiring a significant number of employees, including burners and cleaners among others.” Adding that approximately “1,500 families rely on these refineries for employment and most refineries are owned by up to five partners.” Al-Hussam concludes, “Managing these refineries is an important economic activity in Ma'arat al-Na'asan because of the high demand for oil products in the area.”

These refineries have caused serious health problems in the area explained Dr. Said Al-Khatib, 45, an internal medicine physician, saying that he has observed "an increase in the number of cases of asthma in children in Idlib since 2011. After the increase in the use of the refineries asthma cases have jumped from affecting 2 to 3% of the population of children and adults in 2011, to 10 to 15% of the area’s population in 2012. As their use increased, we noticed a gradual increase in the cases of patients inhaling toxic gases from the refining of petroleum.” He added that in 2013 “the percentage of people with the disease jumped to over 20%, a frightening proportion of the population. At the same time, more severe cases of asthma were found in patients, which required doubling treatment sessions.” Dr. Al-Khatib clarified that the pollutants resulting from the refineries are sensitizing and abrasive to the bronchus and have especially affected the employees of the refineries, as well as children, the elderly and pregnant women.

Khatib also described that the gases emitted from the refineries include carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that, when combined with the blood’s hemoglobin, forms carboxyhemoglobin which leads to carbon monoxide poisoning. Its symptoms include headaches and drowsiness. If a person is exposed to carbon monoxide for half an hour continuously it may lead to fainting and is potentially fatal. In addition to carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide gas is produced. This gas has the foul odor of rotten eggs and exposure to it for two or three minutes can lead to the blinding of the senses, as it becomes connected by neurotransmitters with the sense of smell – which the patient soon loses. The gas is also able to combine with blood cells and brain neurotransmitters, leading to the inhibition of the cytochrome enzyme, an important enzyme in the neurons, which can seriously damage the nervous system and can have fatal consequences.

As for the impact of the refineries on residents and the local environment in Idlib, Hussein al-Ali, a 55-year-old transportation director told Suwar that in the past two years, high quality Syrian gasoline has disappeared from the market and has been replaced by locally produced gasoline in makeshift refineries. This gasoline can damage and exhaust vehicles. Additionally, the fuel produced from the refineries is sold at gas stations with little if any oversight, which has led to the increase of the price of liter of gasoline being sold at 400 Syrian pounds (0.77 US dollars). Additionally, Idlib and its surrounding countryside’s skies are filled with black clouds of smoke due to the use of crude oil residues in the refining process. These clouds of smoke are often accompanied with radioactive and toxic gases, leading to severe air pollution and to soil scorching.

Dr. Khalid Al-Saeed, the 43 -year-old Director of Health in Idlib, provided more details about the effect of the refineries on the health of local residents, saying, “We’ve witnessed a significant increase in the number of patients at public hospitals and health centers complaining from severe respiratory problems as a result being exposed to air pollutants. Our records show that the number of severe respiratory cases has doubled.” He noted that the products of “crude oil refining produces abrasive, suffocating and toxic gases, vapors and fumes. Being exposed to these gases can have a dangerous affect on blood circulation and lead to high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, decreased blood flow to the heart and leukemia. These gasses also effect children’s growth and cause mental and behavioral disorders, congenital malformations, and birth weight decline."

"We can’t breathe fresh air, especially at night” said Suleiman al-Hassan, a 35-year-old resident of Ma'arat al-Nisan, adding that, “Every member of my family faces difficulty in breathing, and we’ve had cases of suffocation.”

The effects of the refineries have not been restricted to humans alone, but have also damaged vegetation according to al-Hassan, who complains that the trees on his farm were exposed to poisonous gases. This has damaged the leaves and fruit of the trees, if not dried up or killed the trees.

Thus, the refineries and their residues have resulted in a plethora of losses, malfunction, illness and death. Idlib and its countryside must continue to decide between two bitter options: the region's need for petroleum products and its lack of technical equipment, and means to prevent the spread of toxic gases and diseases that affect both mammal and vegetation alike.