Public health impacts of an imminent Red Sea oil spill

Benjamin Q. Huynh (), Laura H. Kwong, Mathew V. Kiang, Elizabeth T. Chin, Amir M. Mohareb, Aisha O. Jumaan, Sanjay Basu, Pascal Geldsetzer, Fatima M. Karaki and David H. Rehkopf
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Benjamin Q. Huynh: Stanford University School of Medicine
Laura H. Kwong: University of California
Mathew V. Kiang: Stanford University School of Medicine
Elizabeth T. Chin: Stanford University School of Medicine
Amir M. Mohareb: Massachusetts General Hospital
Aisha O. Jumaan: Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
Sanjay Basu: Harvard Medical School
Pascal Geldsetzer: Stanford University School of Medicine
Fatima M. Karaki: University of California San Francisco
David H. Rehkopf: Stanford University School of Medicine

Nature Sustainability, 2021, vol. 4, issue 12, 1084-1091

Abstract: Abstract The possibility of a massive oil spill in the Red Sea is increasingly likely. The Safer, a deteriorating oil tanker containing 1.1 million barrels of oil, has been deserted near the coast of Yemen since 2015 and threatens environmental catastrophe to a country presently in a humanitarian crisis. Here, we model the immediate public health impacts of a simulated spill. We estimate that all of Yemen’s imported fuel through its key Red Sea ports would be disrupted and that the anticipated spill could disrupt clean-water supply equivalent to the daily use of 9.0–9.9 million people, food supply for 5.7–8.4 million people and 93–100% of Yemen’s Red Sea fisheries. We also estimate an increased risk of cardiovascular hospitalization from pollution ranging from 5.8 to 42.0% over the duration of the spill. The spill and its potentially disastrous impacts remain entirely preventable through offloading the oil. Our results stress the need for urgent action to avert this looming disaster.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00774-8

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