International Environment

U.S. officials in Kuwait raised grave concerns about the health consequences of the pollution from the region's oil well fires. GAO reviewed an April 1991 report by several government agencies entitled Kuwait Oil Fires: Interagency Interim Report that argued that there was no significant acute health risk from the pollution to people with normal respiratory capacity and that more data are needed to determine long-term health risks. GAO concludes that the report's findings are reasonable, given that the scope of the study was limited, the team's findings and conclusions were qualified, and the team recognized the need for more data to determine long-term health risks. More monitoring has been done, and preliminary results suggest that, except for high particulate levels, Kuwait's air quality has generally been within established standards. The fires are now out, and both the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency have begun to assess to long-term health risks, including those from particulate levels.

GAO found that: (1) the report's findings were reasonable, since the study's scope was limited, the study team qualified its findings and conclusions, and the team recognized the need for more data to determine long-term health risks; (2) additional monitoring indicated that Kuwait's air quality has been within standards except for high particulate levels; and (3) the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency have initiated GAO-endorsed actions to assess long-term health risks.