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
Sulfur dioxide Conversely, a successful lung damage caused a significant lowering of endogenous sulfur dioxide production, and an increase in lipid peroxidation, free radical formation, oxidative stress and inflammation. Moreover, blockade of an enzyme that produces endogenous SO significantly increased the amount of lung tissue damage in the experiment. Conversely, adding acetylcysteine or glutathione to the rat diet increased the amount of endogenous SO produced and decreased the lung damage, the free radical formation, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. It is considered that endogenous sulfur dioxide plays a significant physiological role in regulating cardiac and blood vessel function, and aberrant or deficient