The apocalypse seems to have arrived these days Tehran. Los air strikes against the capital of Iran have made appear a toxic rain, black like the clouds that suffocate the city which had about 10 million inhabitants just a month ago. Plumes of smoke caused by strikes at oil depots and refineries spread across Tehran this past Monday. Flames emerged from the sewers and a nauseating, black liquid flowed from the taps, like the immediate future of this town, once the cradle of ancient cultures. The World Health Organization (OMS) has warned that attacks on oil facilities could pose serious health risks to residents.
Since they began American and Israeli attacks against Iran on February 28, at least four attacks have been carried out on oil facilities around the capital. Smog and pollution have blocked out the sun and left a strong burning smell in some parts of the city, while experts warn that the scale of some of the pollutants released could be “unprecedented” and a direct threat to the immediate and future health of the populationreports the BBC.
The latest satellite images, captured on March 9 and reviewed by BBC Verify, show that two major oil facilities in Tehran were still burning yesterday, following airstrikes reported overnight on Saturday. The images also show smoke coming from the Shahran deposit, northwest of the Iranian capital, and the Tehran oil refinery, to the southeast. Verified video of the moments after Saturday’s attack showed huge fireballs lighting up the refinery’s night sky.
When oil combustion is incomplete (when there is not enough oxygen), carbon monoxide and soot particles can be released instead of carbon dioxide and water. That is what is happening in Tehran. Oil fires can also release sulfur and nitrogen oxides, which can form acids if dissolved in rainwater, as well as other harmful hydrocarbons, metal compounds, and oil droplets.
Damage to oil facilities risks contaminating food, water and air, hazards that can have serious health consequences, especially for children, the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions. But they can also have lasting effects for many years on people’s health.
The last hope is that it rains more and that all those pollutants can get rid of little by little. But the alarm situation will not pass. The pollutants have stuck to Tehran like a tattoo, an infectious mass of chemicals that, when dried, can be carried by the wind with their deadly load.
