Oil refining on the cheap in Syria's north

Описание: (6 Jan 2017) LEAD IN:
For some people in Syria, risking their health working in a toxic refinery is the only way to make a living and feed their families.

STORY-LINE:
An eye-watering sight: smoke billowing from a makeshift oil refinery in northern Syria.
For those living in Rumeilan, a Syrian city located near the border with Iraq, working in this hellish environment is the only way to survive.
In this oil rich region, operating a rudimentary refinery is the easiest way to make quick money.
The nearby oil fields are under the control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, and it is from them that the crude oil is bought and the resold.
The refineries are not regulated or inspected by any authorities, meaning that thousands of people here work under terrible conditions.
In addition to the polluted air they breathe, the about 2000 workers, including children, employed in the refineries, work 10 hours per day to receive less than 20 (US dollars) per day.
But for many people here, that is enough to obtain the basics to survive. Common conditions include skin problems, infections and respiratory diseases.
"We know that it causes damage from a health perspective. Everyone knows there are illnesses involved in this but there is no work. All the people here are unemployed. The people here need to eat," says refinery worker Samar Mohammed Rabii.
Refinery worker Newaf Humaid Asfo explains the production process.
"First of all, we bring the oil from Gerziro. They are charging us 65 (US dollars) per ton. We bring it and put it into these burners. This burner for example has the capacity of 100 barrels and it produces, 60 barrels of "oil product", 60 barrels of diesel, thereabouts more or less. Then we take it back to Gerziro and there are contractors that will resell it," he says.
The black smoke and pollution can easily be seen in the air in Rumeilan, and even from Raiba, the neighbouring city in Iraq.
Each refinery produces diesel, gasoil and gasoline among other products from the 5000 barrels - around one million litres - of fuel.

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