- Jan 7, 2002
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VOLCANO, Hawaii - Kilauea volcano, one of Hawaii's most popular tourist attractions, is also by far the state's worst air polluter. Researchers now are trying to determine if that also makes it one of the state's biggest health risks.
Since it began erupting on Jan. 3, 1983, the volcano has been sending an average of 1,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere each day, according to the Hawaii chapter of the American Lung Association.
This is 6,000 times the amount emitted by a major industrial polluter on the mainland, making Kilauea the nation's top producer of sulfur dioxide.
The sulfur dioxide from Kilauea reacts with other chemicals in the air to form a hazy, naturally occurring pollution known locally as "vog," or volcanic smog. When the lava enters the ocean, concentrations of hydrochloric acid are also formed.
The earliest mention of vog in the press were in 1950. Most of these early reports mentioned eye irritation and allergy-like symptoms, but generally implied the condition was benign. But by the mid-1980s, Hawaii had the highest asthma death rate in the country, according to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hawaii_vog
Since it began erupting on Jan. 3, 1983, the volcano has been sending an average of 1,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere each day, according to the Hawaii chapter of the American Lung Association.
This is 6,000 times the amount emitted by a major industrial polluter on the mainland, making Kilauea the nation's top producer of sulfur dioxide.
The sulfur dioxide from Kilauea reacts with other chemicals in the air to form a hazy, naturally occurring pollution known locally as "vog," or volcanic smog. When the lava enters the ocean, concentrations of hydrochloric acid are also formed.
The earliest mention of vog in the press were in 1950. Most of these early reports mentioned eye irritation and allergy-like symptoms, but generally implied the condition was benign. But by the mid-1980s, Hawaii had the highest asthma death rate in the country, according to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hawaii_vog
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