Environmental concerns of wastes released from oil, gas, and petrochemical units

Decrease in the quality and quantity of habitats nearby oil and gas fields and downstream companies happened as a consequence of waste generation. Hundreds of chemicals in the form of organics and inorganics contaminate soil; make surrounding agricultural areas polluted and less productive for plant growth. Moreover, radioactive materials that produced during extraction of oil and gas have negative impacts on especially animal tissues. Gaseous effluent from various steps of oil and gas processing units, such as VOCs and particulate matter, acts as air pollutants, decreases the quality of air, and causes several inhalation problems and respiratory disease. Dissolved organic material, inorganic compounds, and heavy metals are another significant problem raising concerns in areas near oil and gas fields and petrochemical companies that biologically and chemically affect the drinking and surface water quality. The incomplete deployment of laws and regulations is another challenging issue of waste management in the oil and gas industry. Parallel affairs regarding regulations and shortage of acute measurements limited the control system of waste generation.