Shortly after the Persian Gulf War, investigators reported that the area, which had been subjected to hundreds of smoky oil fires and deliberate oil spills when regular oil production slowed down during the war, displayed less oil contamination than they had witnessed in prewar surveys of the same area
They also reported that the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- used as a marker of combustion products spewed from oil wells ignited during the war -- were also relatively low, comparable to those recorded in the temperate oil-producing areas of the Baltic Sea
Peacetime oil production and transport in the Persian Gulf result in high levels of PAHs and massive oil dumping.