The study of the specialised team revealed that there was an increase in the concentration of some air pollutants for a limited period starting from noon of March 21, 2014 in the Ras Laffan area
|
|
Public health was never at risk in Qatar on March 21, when residents experienced an unspecified gas smell, a government committee determined in its findings presented yesterday.
“The smell was the result of the presence of an excessive level of gas burnings from industrial sectors and rundown of exposure to the upper atmosphere,” it was disclosed.
A special committee had been formed under a decree of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani to inquire and monitor the causes of a “gas-like” smell.
The inquiry committee was led by HE the Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi, the director general of Public Security and president of Permanent Emergency Committee (PEC).
The findings of the committee were presented at a press conference yesterday at the Ministry of Interior’s National Command Centre at Duhail.
“The unusual lower clouds and slow movement of wind in the atmosphere for a long period then caused the gas to stay stagnant, which then spread from the north coast when the winds started to move northeast,” it was explained.
Ahmed Mohamed al-Sada, assistant undersecretary of environmental affairs, Ministry of Environment; Ahmed Abdullah, director, Meteorology Department, Civil Aviation Authority; and Abdul Aziz al-Muftah, director of Industrial cities affairs Qatar Petroleum, addressed the press conference which was chaired by Colonel Abdulla Khalifa al-Muftah, director of the Public Relations Department, Ministry of Interior.
The officials said that the committee had sought assistance from several experts from different sectors, who made scientific studies and took samples to determine the actual cause.
The information and data were gathered through a continuous monitoring of air quality from a wide network of 19 air-monitoring stations.
The stations relied on advanced devices and analyses software that operated round-the-clock to monitor and collect data related to concentrations of air pollutants and other suspended particles in the air, and record them in a database for further reference and periodical analysis.
The study of the specialised team revealed that there was an increase in the concentration of some air pollutants for a limited period starting from noon of March 21, 2014 in the Ras Laffan area.
The scientific data from the monitoring stations confirmed that the ratio of pollutants did not exceed national safety standards throughout the period when complaints started to come in.
The inquiry commission saw this as an important finding, given its importance to all authorities in the country since it concerned public health.
The committee said that although the smell had spread and caused some disturbance, it never posed a danger to public health.
The committee consisted of representatives from all the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Environment, Qatar Petroleum, Ministry of Interior and Civil Aviation Authority. Page 2
