Every breath you take: the environmental consequences of #Iran #sanctions
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/nov/21/iran-environmental-consequences-of-sanctions
Turning petrochemical factories into oil refineries is one example. In 2010, Iran imported 40% of its consumer fuel. When President Barack Obama introduced penalties for selling petrol to Iran and imports fell by 75%, Iran responded by developing its own refining and producing what is today the major cause of its deadly air pollution. Reports suggest that Iran’s petrol contains ten times the level of contaminants of imported petrol and its diesel 800 times the international standard for sulphur.
Aggressive development of water infrastructure and handing substantial subsidies to farmers are other examples of strategies developed under pressures caused by the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, international sanctions and the resulting threats to national food security. Iran is currently the third biggest dam builder in the world, with consequent overuse of fossil groundwater sources, drying of its major rivers, and destruction of wetlands, (...)
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Moreover, the United States has managed to restrict and even block environmental financial aid from major international institutions such as the United National Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility, which in theory should help developing countries build a better life with no restrictions. This has had further negative effects on Iran’s environment.
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In general, Iranians inhale a cocktail of rubber particles, asbestos, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and partially burnt remnants of hydrocarbons. Not surprisingly, cancer and respiratory illnesses - the second and third highest causes of death in Iran - are on the rise. Nearly 70,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year, a number that is likely to increase by 90% by 2020, according to the Cancer Research Centre of Iran.