Contribution of power and desalination plants to the levels of volatile liquid hydrocarbons in the nearby coastal areas of Kuwait

The levels and distribution of volatile liquid hydrocarbons (VLHs) were det ermined in Kuwait's coastal areas in the vicinity of outlets of power and d esalination plants. About 230 samples were collected from the selected samp ling locations over the 4 seasons. The VLHs in the samples were analyzed us ing Grob's closed-loop stripping technique and GC with FID and confirmed by GC/MS. The results showed that significant levels of VLHs were present. Th e levels ranged from 307 to 6500 ng/L and from 2880 to 7811 ng/L in Kuwait Bay and Sulaibekhat Bay, respectively. The annual average for VLHs near Al- Zor power plant ranged from 465 to 4665 ng/L. Benzenoids formed the bulk (a bout 80%) of the VLHs present. Comparison with the levels in the outlets in dicated that Doha West power plant contributed much higher levels of VLHs t o the coastal areas than Al-Zor plant. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.