Effect of Carbon Dioxide Emitted from Private Electric Generators on Health and the Environment in the Duhok Governorate/ Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

This field study relied on collecting data related to the actual number of working hours of the power generating stations and their requirements from the fuel and the amount of the carbon dioxide emitted from these power plants because of burning diesel that contaminates our environment.

         The study showed that the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the province of Duhok suffer from the phenomenon of electricity power cuts in the government every day, to meet citizens’ needs for this power outage, civil power generators work side by side with state power transmission stations. Because of this process, which has been ongoing for over ten years, the size of air pollution with a continuous increase in carbon dioxide emissions, which lead to the removal of oxygen gas in the atmosphere because of emissions of carbon dioxide caused by the operation of the huge number of these generators, which accounted to be (1814) generators, which operate on fossil fuels (Diesel) and produce energy (373,818 kW/hour). The total capacity of the minimum production of energy per generator for a daily working is (8) hours, Where the amount of production or emission of carbon dioxide from these generators is (1,247,595.6) kg / hour. Besides the amount of thermal pollution caused by the cooling of these generators cold water, which cause pollution of aquatic ecosystem because of the installation of some of these generators on the shores of the river or some water tables in some districts and villages of the province which adversely affect the living organisms that live in those watersheds. These generators are a common source of noise pollution which bring disturbance to citizens living near some of these generators. Besides the other pollution caused by these generators, namely the visual pollution resulting from the supply of unplanned, random electric wiring and linking it to the homes of citizens, which affects the psychological comfort while looking at such beautiful scenery. All these types of pollution negatively influence health and the environment.