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Arabian Gulf’s marine environment under threat

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 22, 2009 at 7:35 am

From the Middle East’s Gulf Times:

The desalination of [Arabian] Gulf sea water to make it fit for human consumption creates waste water that can be harmful to the sea, new studies report.

Countries around the Gulf are increasingly turning to desalination to meet the thirst of their growing populations, but new studies reveal that some of the waste products from the process, such as heavy metals, chemicals and highly salty and unnaturally warm water can harm the local marine environment.

An estimated 420mn cubic feet of water are desalinated in the region every day, the equivalent in size to 4,800 Olympic swimming pools.

“Heavy metals or trace metals are found in the sea naturally in small quantities,” Dr Mohamed Eltayeb, Marine Programme Officer with IUCN – The World Conservation Union, told The Media Line. “If it’s within the level that the sea can absorb, then there is no problem. But if you add more nutria like nitrate and phosphate, which is the base for plankton, it leads to an overgrowth of algae blooming, which can be harmful to humans.”

Read more from Gulf News by clicking here.

June 22, 2009 · Filed Under Desalination

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