The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by the Iraqi military setting fire to a reported 605 to 732 oil wells along with an unspecified number of oil filled low-lying areas, such as oil lakes and fire trenches while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 due to the advances of …

VA and research organizations continue to evaluate possible causes of Gulf War Veterans' chronic multisymptom illnesses, including exposure to oil well fires. Particles from oil well fires may cause skin irritation, runny nose, cough, shortness of breath; eye, nose, and throat irritation; and aggravation of sinus and asthma conditions.

At the end of the Gulf War, more than 600 Kuwaiti oil wells and several pools of spilled oil were left burning after being ignited by retreating Iraqi troops.

With a much more limited exposure to the oil fires, the 11 ACR reported major symptoms while in Kuwait of fatigue, burning eyes, eye irritation, trouble breathing, nose and throat irritation, and skin rashes. These symptoms have also been reported by ill Gulf War veterans.

Ignition of oil well fires also created a serious threat to environmental and human health in the Persian Gulf region. The Kuwait oil fires burned for more than eight months, consuming an estimated five to six million barrels of crude oil and 70 to …

Feb 23, 1991 · RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — At least 150 of Kuwait’s 950 oil wells have been set ablaze by Iraqi troops as part of a “scorched earth policy” that has blanketed a quarter of the occupied nation with...

Apr 9, 2016 · Twenty-five years ago, as the United States-led coalition started driving out Iraqi forces from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein’s troops responded by setting ablaze hundreds of oil wells, creating one of...

May 1, 2018 · Service members who served in regions where oil wells and oil refineries were present may encounter smoke from burning oil fires. During Operation Desert Storm (1991), Iraqi forces damaged and set aflame hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait, creating an environmental hazard for troops who were nearby.

Thirty-two countries formed a coalition to drive Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces from Kuwait. It began with an air assault and continued on the ground. Iraq released millions of barrels of oil into...

In 1991, Iraqi forces committed one of the largest acts of ecological terrorism the world has ever seen. A year after Kuwait's libration, hundreds of miles of coastline were still slathered in over a foot of oil, and fires fueled a smoke cloud covering ~1.3 million square miles. [3]