Subject:	Iraq: Gone
Date:	1999/05/30
Author:	fedinfo <fedinfo@halifax.com>
	Posting History

Iraq's largest refinery an `environmental nightmare' 1.31 p.m. ET (1731 GMT) May 30, 1999 By Leon Barkho, Associated Press     BAIJI, Iraq (AP)  Aging, decrepit and war-battered equipment has turned Iraq's largest refinery into an economic and environmental nightmare.   Its poorly working machinery can convert only half the 310,000 barrels of oil it processes each day into usable fuel.   The other half becomes waste, a sulfurous goo held in giant pits at the plant or pumped off to evaporation ponds in distant valleys  to the horror of neighboring farmers.   "We have almost run out of ideas on what to do,'' Ali Hameed, director general of state-owned Northern Oil Refineries, told The Associated Press.   In addition, the refinery at Baiji, 130 miles north of Baghdad, lacks the equipment to clean the nearly 21,000 cubic feet of water used every hour. A canal carries the highly sulfurous waste water to the Tigris River.   "We face two alternatives: Either to shut down the complex and bring life in the country to a halt, or continue despite the difficulties,'' Hameed said.   ======     This plant is in no way going to be Y2K compliant. Yet, If they shut it down, it wrecks their economy. It will not be operational in a few more months. Just one more example of the economic catastrophe that is about to come down.   If they continue to run it they are poisoning themselves. If they stop running it they go down the tubes.   Y2k will effectively finish them off. Not to mention the myriad of other oil producers in The Middle East.     http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/wires2/index.sml -- Paul Milne If you live within five miles of a 7-11, you're toast. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

-- a (a@a.a), June 01, 1999

Answers

NO, this can not be true! It's only a bump in the road! It's a hoax! Why doesn't anybody hear me ??????? I'll run my car on farts. NO PROBLEM!

Got beer?

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), June 01, 1999.

I'm kinda hoping that Y2K has the same effect on the Chinese nuclear program...

-- Doug (douglasjohnson@prodigy.net), June 01, 1999.

That's right people, it's over there...not here....over there: it's a chinese, iraqi problem...over there.

Anyone who buys that needs to get some focus. Go back and read the old threads about how it's cheaper to build a new refinery than to fix the old non-compliant ones. See any new refineries going up? No? See any new offshore drilling rigs being built? I can tell you there are some major lay-offs occurring in the offshore oil exploration companies.

Did I hear right? did someone wish ill on the chinese nuclear plants? May your ancestors forgive your ignorance. The wind of the dragon blows over the earth and all will feel its breath. Ah, no I see you may have been referring to their nuclear program and meant as in stalling its development. With that I agree.

I am more concerned about the chemical/industrial plants right here in my own backyard. Look around at your town...look specifically in the upwind areas within 10 miles of your own home. Now tell me where should your focus be? Have you made any inquiries, gotten any info on the status of those plants. Do you know the possible outcome if there are power shortages/outages...will these plants be capable of safe shutdown. There's a lot to be concerned about in your own back yard; I fear we spend too much time pontificating about the dangers of over there while the toxic pot boils unnoticed in our own neighborhoods.

-- Shelia (Shelia@active-stream.com), June 01, 1999.

Sheila

Yes, I was referring to the Chinese missile program. In fact, I don't even know if China has nuclear reactors for power. I suppose they do.

I hope no country's nuclear power plants have Y2K problems, and especially ours. My little country retreat is perfect, except for the fact that it's about 30 miles from two plants.

-- Doug (douglasjohnson@prodigy.net), June 01, 1999.

Fouling the Tigris and/or the Euphrates flowage is not just an Iraqi problem. The combined rivers empty into the Persian Gulf.

From http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/ice/tigris.htm --

The importance of scarce fresh water is yet to be understood by many people and nations, despite the fact that most of the developing nations are located in the arid or semi-arid regions of the world, where water is the most scarce. For example, Europe alone contains the half of the running surface water in the world alone, at the same time in the Middle East, the water scarcity is so severe that nations are threatening each other with war. In 88 developing countries, with nearly 40 per cent of world's population, water shortages are already a serious constraint on their development.[2] The water scarcity barrier for human consumption is accepted to be a mere 1000 cubic meters per person annually, and many of the Middle Eastern countries fall below this barrier. Besides Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, who share the Euphrates-Tigris water basin, almost all of the nations in the Middle East suffer from serious water scarcity.

This research is concentrated on water scarcity and the potential conflicts over water in the Middle East. The main goal is to identify the conflict zone with its past and present problems and offer suggestions for the future cooperation among the riparian countries and the region overall. The Euphrates-Tigris basin is one of the most important waterways in the world and plays an extreme important role in the future of water availability in the Middle East. Therefore, an in- depth analysis about the basin and suggestions for future cooperation among riparians are provided by the researcher in order to address the tense political situation in the region.

Geography of the Region

Euphrates River

The Euphrates river has its springs in the highlands of Eastern Turkey and its mouth at the Persian Gulf. It is the longest river in Southwestern Asia with 2,700 km, and its actual annual volume is 35.9 billion cubic meters (bcm).[4] The Euphrates river is formed in Turkey by two major tributaries; the Murat and the Karasu. These two streams join together around the city of Elazig, and the river Euphrates follows a southeastern route to enter Syria at Karakamis point. After entering Syria, the Euphrates continues its southeastern course and is joined by two more tributaries, the Khabur and the Balikh. Both of these tributaries have their sources in Turkey and they are the last bodies of water that contribute to the river. After entering Iraq, the river reaches the city of Hit, where it is only 53 m above sea level. From Hit to the delta in the Persian Gulf, for 735 km, the river loses a major portion of its waters to irrigation canals and to Lake Hammar. The remainder joins the Tigris river near the city of Qurna, and the combined rivers are called the Shatt al- Arab. The Karun river from Iran joins the Shatt at Basra, and they empty into the Persian Gulf altogether.[5]

Historically, the Euphrates derives its name from the Sumarian Buranun, which became Purattum in Akadian, Ufrat in old Persian, Euphrates in Greek and Latin, Furat in Arabic, and Firat in Turkish.[6] The Euphrates is highly non-navigable upstream from Hit, where rapids and shoals make it impossible for transportation use. Although downstream from Hit it is highly unpredictable, it allows certain modes of transportation, and after Basra the Shatt becomes more navigable for modern transportation.

This river, along with the Tigris, was the cradle of the early Mesopotamian civilizations and irrigation made it possible for the locals to develop agriculture. This resulted in the development of great ancient civilizations, where water played an important starting role. Mesopotamia, the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris, remained as the center of many different civilizations and gave life to millions of inhabitants.[7] Tigris River: The Tigris river also has its springs in the highlands of Eastern Turkey, but the main contribution to the river comes from the tributaries in Iraq. The Tigris river follows a southeastern route in Turkey to the city of Cizre, where it forms the border between Turkey and Syria for 32 km before entering Iraq. In Iraq it meets its tributaries: the Greater Zap, the Lesser Zap, the Adhaim, and the Diyala. It joins the Euphrates in Qurna and continues its journey as the Shatt al-Arab to the Persian Gulf The Tigris river carries more water than the Euphrates river, due to its tributaries from the Zargos mountains. These tributaries are fed by melting snows in the spring and rainfall during the summer and fall. But, the extensive irrigation and diversification canals remove around 70-80 per cent of its waters before forming Shatt al-Arab.[8]

The Tigris is the second longest river in Southwest Asia at 1,840 km. The city of Baghdad is located on the conjunction of the Tigris and Diyala rivers and navigation is possible from Baghdad downstream. Although the river allows some transportation to Mosul in the North, it becomes unnavigable afterwards. Because of the irregularities of the tributaries' flows, the Tigris is widely known for its infamous floods. To control these floods, the Iraqis divert water from the Tigris to the Euphrates, where the Euphrates has less alleviation than the Tigris.[9] The name for the Tigris river comes from the Sumerian Idigna, which became Idiglat in Akkadian, Tigra in old Persian, and Tigris to Herodotus (circa 450 B.C.E) and those after him. Modern Turks refer to it as the Dicle, which is also the Arabic name.[10] The Tigris too contributed greatly to the development of civilizations, many ancient cities were built on the banks of the river. The major contribution of the river to the civilizations was its suitability to irrigation, and as a result the earliest farmlands were developed around the Tigris river. The region prospered and hosted many civilizations, and up the modern times it has remained as an important center for civilizations.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), June 02, 1999.

Well at least they managed to restore Kuwaiti democracy.

-- humpty (iam_not_a_number@hotmail.com), June 03, 1999.