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Inspectors found much of the waste rotting
and abandoned |
Derelict factories, military scrapyards and battle sites across Iraq
pose a threat to the environment and to public health, the United Nations has
said.
The UN Environment Program has trained Iraqi specialists in detoxification, but
says any clean-up could cost up to $40m (£23m).
Chemical spills, unsecured hazardous material and widespread pollution
by depleted uranium are among the issues.
Without clean-up, heavy metals can poison ground water, causing illness.
The Unep has examined five sites as part of its training efforts, and is concerned
by the results.
"There are hundreds, probably thousands of other sites with the need of
assessment," said Mural Thummarukudy, Unep's manager in Iraq, who appealed
for donations.
String of wars
Among the five sites already probed are a metal plating facility at al-Qadyissa
that was bombed, looted and then demolished in 2003.
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Alla Saleem developed an eye tumour linked to depleted uranium (Pic: 2001) |
Several tons of cyanide remain on the site, which is now an unsecured area used
as a playground by local children.
The other sites include an old sulphur mine, a munitions factory containing
unexploded ordnance and an abandoned petrochemicals plant.
Narmin Othman, Iraq's environment minister, said that some 311 sites were polluted
by depleted uranium, the Associated Press reported.
Many of Iraq's potential danger spots were either damaged or destroyed during
the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the 1991 Gulf war or the US-led invasion in
2003.
In addition, many of the sites have been looted in recent years as insurgents
and militias raid them for weapons and materiel, with little thought for potential
environmental effects.
