Assessment of Air Pollutants for Baba Industrial Area at Kirkuk Oil Field, Iraq

Oil fields are considered one of the major sources of air pollutants, such as particulate matter and many pollutant gases, which contribute to long-term health impacts and the phenomena of the greenhouse effect. The present study concentrated on the effect of hourly emissions from gas flares in the North Oil Company Baba industrial area on concentrations of air pollutants PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 monitored in four regions surrounding the oil field, Gurga Chal, Alaw Mahmood, Tisin, and Yaychi, and neighbors in Kirkuk City, at different seasons during 2022. In the Tisin region, the average concentration of particulate matter affected by the Baba industrial area, and exceeded the permissible limits for pollutants, reaching 25.2 µg/m3 within 24 hours in April, while the rest of the pollutant's highest concentrations were observed in winter within the allowable limits. Spatial distribution of the same pollutants (highest hourly concentration) in Kirkuk Governorate using CAMS hourly data for spatial resolution 10km shows significant variation in pollutant concentrations across all months. Spatial analysis exhibits that Hawija District (southwest of Kirkuk) has the highest pollutant levels. Areas with high industrial activity, like the Fatha area near Salah Al-Din Governorate, showed higher SO2 levels affecting other pollutant levels, especially in Hawiga Discrete. The study concludes that the gas flares from the Baba industrial area contribute to air pollution, particularly increasing PM2.5 levels in the Tisin region near Kirkuk city, southern the North oil company. However, the overall, gas flares impact less significant than other pollution sources from Salah Al-Din Governorate. These regions have industrial activities reflect a greater influence on the air quality.