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MOHAMED E. BARAKA, FRCSI
Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1992;118(6):663.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—The term London smog was used to describe the combination of smoke and fog with sulfur dioxide. It was instrumental in thousands of deaths in London in 1952.¹

Following the Gulf War, the environmental disaster resulting from more than 500 burning oil wells in Kuwait has probably been the worst in the world's history. The fumes from such fires may contain different pollutants such as benzine, formaldehyde, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. Some of these substances are known to cause damage to the mucous lining of the respiratory tract. During the summer in the Gulf, no fog is visible, but sand-storms, dust, intense sunlight, and humidity dominate the climate. Most of these are known to speed the conversion of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) to sulfur trioxide (SO₃). The latter has the ability to combine immediately with water vapor to form sulfuric acid . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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