The Department of Ecology at the College of Science, University of Basra, organized a seminar on the impact of petroleum compounds on wheat and barley crops in northern Basra Governorate.

The seminar, presented by graduate student Fatima Ihsan Kadhim (Master's level), aimed to determine the extent of the impact of petroleum compounds on wheat and barley crops in various locations in northern Basra Governorate, and the nutritional safety and suitability of these crops for consumption. The seminar addressed the sources of pollution, which are primarily petroleum-based, with some biological contamination. It also noted that most of the soil and the entire plant of the wheat and barley crops are contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.

 The seminar recommended avoiding the cultivation of important crops near pollution sources, allocating agricultural land farther away, and conducting tests on the crops to prevent their transfer to humans and their impact on health, potentially leading to various diseases, especially cancer.