Tackling Kuwait’s Air Pollution through a Regulatory-Based Approach – A Case Study

Kuwait is one of the largest oil producers in the world. However, it is also the tenth most polluted nation in the world, as per a WHO report in 2011 [1], which has created public health concerns in Kuwait. Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), which is involved in the exploration, drilling and production of oil and gas within the State of Kuwait, has undertaken a landmark project in conjunction with the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA), to develop and implement a regulatory air compliance management programme (ACMP). The ACMP is the first-ever joint venture of its type between the industry and regulators, and it includes development of a system providing real-time measurement of pollution across the country as well as a pioneering national air quality inventory with research-grade dispersion modelling techniques to determine human health risk. Subsequently, an innovative source apportion- ment study is undertaken, utilizing satellite-based techniques to define pollutant source contributions from various sources and develop abatement strategies. The ACMP is a successful demonstration of the implementation of latest technologies like hyperspectral remote imagery for surrogate estimation, remote sensing information for tracking pollutant masses during the project to provide inputs and conduct a comprehensive Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) based on US EPA’s Human Health Risk Assessment Protocol (HHRAP).