Did smoke from the Kuwait oil well fires affected archaeological sites and monuments of Iranian cultural heritage?

The combustion of crude oil produces a wide range of
pollutants, including gases, volatile organic compounds,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acid compounds (e.g.,
sulfuric acid), and soot. Several of these pollutants have
been linked with the deterioration and blackening of
monuments. The paper reports the results of an investigation
on the causes of the soiling of cultural remains at
important archaeological sites in the provinces of Khuzestan
and Fars, in southern Iran, assumed to be an effect of
the Persian Gulf oil well fires of 1991. Different analytical
techniques were applied to characterize the mineralogical
composition of the damage layers, investigate the
deposition of atmospheric particles, measure the anion
concentrations, and identify and quantify the carbon
components. The results showed that the black deposits
on the surfaces of the Iranian monuments considered are
mainly microbiotic crusts produced by cyanobacterial
growth. No evidence was found of the deposition of particulate
matter (smoke) produced by the Kuwait oil fires during the Gulf War.