Cumulative Impact Assessment (CEA) of the development of petrochemical industries in Mahshahr Special Economic Zone

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Environmental-Natural Resources Engineering

Abstract

Ecological system is a comprehensive and interconnected system, and human actions are a combination of large, small and repetitive activities. What is certain is that every human decision and action affects the environment, in other words, human activities, both small and large, are integrated into the context of the ecological system. In Iran, the evaluation of the effects of development on the environment is done only at the project level as (evaluation of the effects of development [1]). The notable weakness of projects focused on EIA in general is its lack of sufficient ability to deal with the cumulative effects on the environment, although the evaluation reports on the effects of development on the environment provide useful information in line with the project, but they ignore the cumulative effects of the projects together that are revealed over time. In this research, firstly, the cumulative effects evaluation methods were stated, and then to evaluate the cumulative effects of petrochemical industries in Mahshahr Special Economic Zone, among the cumulative effects evaluation methods, two methods of geographic information system and interactive matrix were used. The results of these two methods are different in nature and were compared in terms of advantages and disadvantages and the amount of data required for each method. Raster information layers of pollutant zoning were separately mapped and combined, and a map of the cumulative effects of water, air and sound of petrochemical complexes was prepared. The next step is to calculate the average cumulative index for pollutants related to Khormosi, which is the most important aquatic habitat around the study area. The next step was to use the interactive matrix method due to the proximity of petrochemical complexes and in order to quantify the effects. Finally, using the Pastakia matrix, which is a quick assessment method, and the use of expert opinions, the degree of cumulative effects on each of the physical-chemical, biological-ecological, social-cultural, and economic-technical environments was determined during the exploitation phase. Keywords: cumulative effects assessment, geographic information system, interactive matrix, hierarchical analysis process, Mahshahr special economic zone. rtl;"> 

Introduction

Man in the face of the environment on which his survival inevitably depends. It has not adopted a reasonable method and instead of comprehensiveness, planning and planning for long-term productivity of its surrounding environment, it has been satisfied with immediate use and immediate and transitory profit seeking (Vahabzadeh, 1372). Biological communities are especially the elements that are most sensitive and vulnerable to industrial pollution.

For the first time, the petrochemical industry came into existence in America, and the Americans used the term "petrochemicals" for raw materials derived from oil, and then in Europe and other countries, the use of petroleum materials as primary raw materials began. In Iran, for the first time in 1343, the National Petrochemical Industries Company affiliated to the National Iranian Oil Company was established and started its activities in this field from the industry. Petrochemical industry in Iran is about half a century old (Mostjabi, 2007). The first relatively organized organization for this purpose was the chemical company affiliated to the Ministry of Economy. The main activity of this company was the establishment of the chemical fertilizer factory in Maroodasht Fars in 1338, until in 1343, according to the law, all the activities that were carried out as the creation and development of petrochemical industries by the subordinate units of the ministries and various government organizations were concentrated in the National Iranian Oil Company, and the aforementioned company established a subsidiary company called National Petrochemical Industries Company to meet this purpose. The main goal of this company is to produce by-products of oil and oil derivatives, natural gas and other raw materials, both organic and mineral. (Rafehanjad, 2016). The National Petrochemical Industry Company, as one of the four main companies of the Ministry of Petroleum since its establishment in 1342, has played an important role in economic development, expansion of non-oil exports and supply of raw materials.The National Petrochemical Industry Company, as one of the four main companies of the Ministry of Petroleum since its establishment in 1342, has been playing an important role in economic development, expansion of non-oil exports, and supply of raw materials for downstream industries. This industry produced 800,000 tons of petrochemical products until the end of the imposed war, at the end of the third five-year plan, 857,000 tons of polymers were developed, and it is expected to reach 10.4 million tons by the end of 2018, which is the end of the fourth development plan. Currently, 11 projects in Mahshahr Special Economic Zone, 15 projects in Pars Special Economic Zone, and 15 projects in other regions of the country are under construction or implementation. So far, 21 independent projects and development projects of the second five-year plan have been put into operation, and 11 projects are under study. On the other hand, potentially, petrochemical industries are considered as one of the biggest sources of environmental pollution. Today, controlling and reducing the effects of pollution caused by petrochemical industries in order to protect the environment is one of the most important issues and concerns of the nations of the world. The major environmental problems of these industries, especially in the conditions of non-compliance with environmental regulations and standards, have dangerous consequences and disrupt the biological nature of human societies as well as wildlife (Rooney, 2005). Due to the nature of the activities and processes carried out, these industries have the potential to create adverse effects on the environment due to the production of wastewater, emission of polluting gases and hazardous waste (Xiao-ping, 2004). Also, due to the nature of their compounds, the discharge of petrochemical industries into receiving water resources has the ability to destroy a significant part of biological elements. So that, directly and indirectly, it provides the ground for the gradual elimination of aquatic species, both animal and plant, and thus by reducing the number and diversity of species, it makes the food web easier and turns the water source, especially in the coasts, into a dead water source (Rajesh, 2006). Although the assessment of environmental effects has been done in the form of EIA reports for each project, and its environmental effects have been identified, the effects of the increases that these projects bring are not considered. Therefore, it is necessary that in addition to examining the effects of individual projects, the evaluation of their cumulative effects is also presented in the form of a framework. This will increase the evaluation of the environmental effects and provide suggestions that will reduce the problems caused by those projects.

The Persian Gulf is a semi-closed sea with an area of ??40 thousand square kilometers, which has a unique environmental diversity and between 400 and 450 species of fish live in it. The Persian Gulf is located in a tropical and dry region, where due to the special ecological and environmental conditions, the range of tolerance of aquatic animals in it has decreased to environmental changes, and the entry of pollutants also causes more damage to these organisms (Samadiar, 2014). The studied area is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in Mahshahr city, and due to the establishment of petrochemical industrial units, it acts as a strategic bottleneck in the oil and gas regions of Iran, facilitating the access to oil and gas resources, raw materials and feed for industrial units. The most important water ecosystems in this area are estuaries. The presence of nutrients and favorable temperature conditions in the estuaries of the region has caused the abundance of all kinds of benthic species, such as perterans, tanaeids, comtarans and fish. Also, the types of aquatic and waterside birds, many of which are native to the region or migrate to this region every year to spend the winter from cold regions, indicate the ecological importance of the estuaries around the studied region (Nabawi, 1378). which is defined as follows:

Marine pollution includes direct and indirect human activities on any type of material or energy to the marine environment (including beaches) that may have an inappropriate effect and endanger marine organisms and human health, and may limit marine activities or reduce the quality and desirability of marine waters (Marcus, 2004). Chemicals are one of the most important types of water pollutants and originate from natural sources of mining, industry (such as petrochemical companies) and other sources of pollution (point and non-point sources of pollution). Petrochemical companies are one of the types of pollution with point sources.