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
Titanium dioxide nitrogen oxides. A cement that uses titanium dioxide as a photocatalytic component, produced by Italcementi Group, was included in Time Magazine's Top 50 Inventions of 2008. Attempts have been made to photocatalytically mineralize pollutants (to convert into CO and HO) in waste water. TiO offers great potential as an industrial technology for detoxification or remediation of wastewater due to several factors: The photocatalytic destruction of organic matter is also exploited in photocatalytic antimicrobial coatings, which are typically thin films applied to furniture in hospitals and other surfaces susceptible to be contaminated with bacteria, fungi and viruses. Although TiO pigment does