Sulfur gases (in particular SO 2), sulfate aerosol, and ash are the most important airborne hazards for population-scale, longer-term impacts and have been shown to affect air quality locally as well as hundreds to thousands of kilometers from source during large fissure or explosive eruptions (e.g., Schmidt et al. A further airborne hazard is generated when lava flows into seawater, generating a “laze” (lava + haze) plume that contains HCl, volcanic glass fragments, and various metals (Mason et al. Volcanic particulate matter (PM) thus encompasses a heterogeneous mixture of ash PM and acidic sulfate- and metal-bearing aerosol PM. Volcanic aerosol particles formed through gas condensation are extremely fine-grained, typically ~0.2–0.5 μm in diameter (Mather et al. As volcanic gases cool and react in the atmosphere, they may condense into particles and/or adsorb to ash surfaces (Oppenheimer et al. The physical and chemical properties of ash can vary significantly across eruptions and with distance (Jenkins et al. Ash can be generated during a variety of eruptive processes and can contain substantial amounts of respirable-sized particles (<4 μm diameter) that can penetrate into the lungs (Horwell 2007). This includes a discussion of hazard assessment methods, a summary of reported human health effects, a review of risk assessment, population preparedness and protection practices, and a discussion of emerging themes and future directions.Īirborne volcanic emissions comprise variable mixtures of silicate ash, gases (H 2O, CO 2, SO 2, H 2S, CO, HF, and HCl), volatile metal vapors, and sulfate aerosol, formed through SO 2 gas-to-particle conversion (Fig. Here, we address the state of knowledge regarding volcanic air pollution and health. 2021), can also present chronic, far-reaching hazards which may have harmful and long-lasting effects on populations across large geographic areas (Oppenheimer et al. Airborne volcanic emissions, often referred to as “volcanic air pollution” (Tam et al. 2020) with cascading health and social impacts including disease outbreaks due to overcrowding, food insecurity, mental health issues, and violence (Connell and Lutkehaus 2017). Eruptions may also displace large numbers of people temporarily or permanently (Cuthbertson et al. Volcanic eruptions may cause injuries and fatalities via a range of hazardous phenomena (e.g., pyroclastic density currents, ballistics, lahars, lava flows, and localized accumulations or flows of asphyxiant gases such as CO 2 and H 2S), affecting communities within tens of kilometers of the vent (Brown et al. Globally, over a billion people are estimated to live within 100 km of an active volcano (Freire et al. Relationship building between visiting researchers and host country academic, observatory, and agency partners is vital and can, in turn, support the effective communication of health impacts of volcanic air pollution to populations, health practitioners, and emergency managers. Instigating such studies will be facilitated by continued co-development of standardized protocols, supporting local study teams and procuring equipment, funding, and ethical permissions. Furthermore, very few studies have longitudinally followed populations chronically exposed to volcanic emissions thus, knowledge gaps remain about whether chronic exposures can trigger development of potentially fatal diseases. Similarly, effects of prolonged degassing on exposed populations have received very little attention relative to explosive eruptions. However, it remains problematic that the health effects of many major and sometimes long-duration eruptions near large populations have gone completely unmonitored. Recent advances include standardized ash assessment methods to characterize the multiple physicochemical characteristics that might influence toxicity the rise of community-based air quality monitoring networks using low-cost gas and particulate sensors the development of forecasting methods for ground-level concentrations and associated public advisories the development of risk and impact assessment methods to explore health consequences of future eruptions and the development of evidence-based, locally specific measures for health protection. Here, we summarize key advances and prospects in the assessment of health hazards, effects, risk, and management. Volcanic air pollution from both explosive and effusive activity can affect large populations as far as thousands of kilometers away from the source, for days to decades or even centuries.
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