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
Underground coal gasification oxidants (air, oxygen) and steam to ignite and fuel the underground combustion process. Separate production wells are used to bring the product gas to the surface. The high pressure combustion is conducted at temperature of , but it may reach up to . The process decomposes coal and generates carbon dioxide (), hydrogen (), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (). In addition, there are small quantities of various contaminants including sulfur oxides (), mono-nitrogen oxides (), and hydrogen sulfide (). As the coal face burns and the immediate area is depleted, the oxidants injected are controlled by the operator. There are