Panelists on Missoula program say Gulf War damaged Persian Gulf ecosystems and could cause long-term health, climate harms

On the Missoula Peace Network radio program, environmental experts and activists warned that the Gulf War caused extensive damage to Persian Gulf ecosystems and could produce long-lasting human-health and climate effects.

Vicki Watson, a faculty member in the Environmental Studies program and the Botany Department at the University of Montana, said "no one ever wins a war because the Earth and all of its inhabitants really lose every war that's ever fought," and described how bombing, oil spills and fires have harmed marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs and sandy turtle-nesting beaches in the Tigris–Euphrates delta and along the Persian Gulf coast.

The panelists said those habitats are vital for fisheries and local food supplies. Watson noted the area "is one of the most productive environments on Earth," including nurseries for fish and shellfish, overwintering areas for waterfowl, and nesting beaches for endangered green and hawksbill sea turtles.

JV Bennett, a University of Montana student and activist, described additional hazards from military operations. "The United States army is one of the world's largest producers of chemical wastes, or toxic waste in general," Bennett said, and he stated that military units and host governments had not established adequate waste-treatment systems for human and industrial wastes produced by large troop concentrations. Panelists described vehicles, tanks and troop movement as damaging desert soils and vegetation, increasing erosion and dust storms.

Panelists reported that combat and deliberate releases produced large oil spills and more than 600 oil fires. One speaker cited an estimate that as much as 6,000,000 barrels of oil per day were burning at peak periods; scientists cited in the program estimated soot emissions on the order of hundreds of thousands of tons and warned that if even a small fraction reached the stratosphere it could reduce surface temperatures and affect weather and crops well beyond the Gulf region.

The panel discussed risks from strikes on industrial and weapons facilities. Bennett and other panelists said attacks on chemical, biological and nuclear sites can release persistent toxins into air, soil and water. Bennett warned that unexploded ordnance and duds from guided munitions pose a long-term danger to farmers and civilians: "When a smart bomb doesn't explode, it just stays there ... many of these bombs will explode when they come in contact with metal," he said, citing comparisons to unexploded ordnance in Vietnam.

Speakers also described contamination risks to surface water and groundwater. They said bombing of chemical-weapons and industrial facilities can send toxic plumes into rivers and aquifers and that firefighting efforts that use seawater to extinguish oil fires may salinate groundwater. One panelist noted reports of local outbreaks of waterborne disease linked to damaged irrigation and sanitation systems.

Several speakers criticized restrictions on environmental monitoring during the conflict. The program cited a government order that blocked environmental-impact investigations and some satellite releases between Jan. 25 and March 22, and said that limited the ability of agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to document impacts in real time.

The program concluded with a call to public action. Jim McGrath, host of the Missoula Peace Network, urged listeners to use the information to press policymakers on energy and environmental policy and to avoid repeating wars that produce long-term ecological damage.

Discussion only: the broadcast presented scientific observations, first-hand reporting, and estimates; no formal decisions or actions were taken on the program.