Environmental issues in Syria Attacks on oil refineries can cause oil fires which release harmful chemicals into the air, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sulphur and nitrogen compounds are linked to acid rain which can have dire impacts on vegetation as well as cause soil acidification. PAHs persist in the environment for long periods of time and are known carcinogens. Syria also extracts heavy crude oil, which generally has a higher proportion of noxious substances, including heavy metals, making it especially dangerous when these substances seep into the soil. Syria has two oil refineries. The
Oil sands pyrene, and benzo(a)pyrene) and that these emissions had been previously unreported. The Alberta government computes an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) from sensors in five communities in the oil sands region, operated by a "partner" called the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA). Each of their 17 continuously monitoring stations measure 3 to 10 air quality parameters among carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (), total reduced sulfur (TRS), Ammonia (), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen oxides (NO), ozone (), particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (), total hydrocarbons (THC), and methane/non-methane hydrocarbons (/NMHC). These AQHI are said to indicate 'low