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The refinery and oil well fires in Kuwait are located approximately 750 kilometers (km) northeast of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is well within the 1,600 km range of influence reported for this environmental disaster. On a hemispheric scale, this catastrophe cannot be classified meteorologically as macroscale (global) in extent (which is described as affecting a horizontal area from 3000 km to planetary in scope). Vertical motion, of course, is equally as important as horizontal dispersion, as it largely determines how much air is available for attenuation of the air contaminates. Present reports from Kuwait indicate that the smoke plumes have reached 5 to 10 km into the troposphere, but have not as yet reached the stratosphere. Nighttime radiation inversions are common in Kuwait and could help to hinder dispersion of air contaminates into the upper atmosphere. Since the end of the Gulf War, no air quality data regarding the levels of gaseous or particulate matter in the air in Riyadh have become available. However, residents of Riyadh recently have noticed a reduction in visibility and an increase in haze. When the wind is from the northeast it is possible to look directly at the sun, indicating a reduction in solar radiation. Black, sooty particles have been noted in the rainfall and darkening or soiling of building surfaces has been observed. However, no eye irritation, odors or damage to automobile surfaces have been observed and no animal or plant damage reported. So far, on a regional scale, black smoke clouds coming from Kuwait have drifted on the prevailing westerly winds as far as Pakistan, and oily, black snow has been reported falling in Kashmir. This environmental disaster would appear to be a situation where the application of various dispersion models could be used to estimate the impact of the burning refineries and oil wells in Kuwait on the air quality in Riyadh. The models' performance could then be validated by comparing the estimates to actual air quality measurements as well as the calibration of the models by adjusting the estimates to more closely agree with the observed air quality data. The information presented here regarding indooroutdoor nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration in Riyadh provides valuable background Copyright 1991-Air & Waste Management Association July 1991 Volume 41, No. 7 information for dispersion modeling as well as for future air quality studies in this city. Previous articles published in this journal deal with indoor-outdoor particulate matter and carbon monoxide concentration in Riyadh, and also contain valuable background air quality data. 1 > 2

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suspended particulate matter levels indoors and outdoors in the Engineering Laboratories in the College of Engineering at King Saud University in Riyadh. The total suspended particulate matter (TSP) was evaluated by using standard high volume air samplers and the inhalable particulates (IP) were evaluated by using circular Jet cascade impactors, (IACFM Andersen Samplers). The average TSP for samples taken outdoors was 662 /ug/m 3 while the average TSP indoors was 167 fig/m z. The average indoor-outdoor ratio for TSP was 0.25. The average IP less than 10 /um in size for samples taken outdoors was 137 /ug/m 3 while the average IP indoors less than 10 /urn was 78 fig/m 2. The average indoor-outdoor ratio for IP was 0.59. The average geometric mean size of the IP outdoors was 1.54 fim while indoors the average geometric mean size was 1.33 fim. It would appear that to set air quality standards it would be appropriate to consider both indoor and outdoor exposures.

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