BBC: Iraq ranks second globally in environmental pollution

Shafaq News / Reports confirm that Iraq ranks second globally in environmental pollution after Russia, with approximately 18 billion cubic meters burned annually.

According to a BBC report, the gas burned in Iraq is sufficient to supply energy to about 20 million European households annually.

The report highlighted that the Rumaila field, operated by BP and PetroChina, stands as the largest source of gas flaring. Studies have revealed that one of the cancer-causing air pollutants is Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), which exceeds European safety standards by ten times and is present in the air there.

Furthermore, the report mentioned that in villages near the gas flaring areas in Iraq's oil wells, there have been significantly elevated levels of PM2.5, reaching a peak at 100 micrograms per cubic meter, while the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is five micrograms per cubic meter.

In 2013, the Iraqi government, in collaboration with the oil giant Shell, established the Basra Gas Company to capture gas produced from extracting oil in the country's three largest fields, Rumaila, Qurna, and Zubair. Despite these efforts, oil flaring in Iraq has continued at high levels and has even increased since then.