POST-GULF WAR ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVELS OF PAHS IN THE SEDIMENTS FROM SHUAIBA INDUSTRIAL-AREA, KUWAIT

Kuwait's marine environment was heavily impacted by the events followi ng the Gulf War of 1991. A large spill originated in the area close to Shuaiba Industrial Area which was already polluted as a result of oil -related and industrial activities. The objective of this study was to assess the status of the marine sediments from this area for petroleu m-related pollutants. The sediment samples were collected over a one y ear period from seven locations acid were analyzed for their PAH conte nts. The results indicated that the samples of the first batch were re latively highly contaminated. The levels of PAHs showed a downward tre nd in the subsequent batches. Higher molecular weight PAHs constituted the bulk in most of the samples. The levels encountered were consider ably higher than those reported for the samples collected from the sam e general area prior to the Gulf War. Copyright (C) 1996 IAWQ.