Toord

erco

pie

sof

this

pam

phle

t,

visi

tth

eIV

HH

Nw

ebsi

te:

ww

w.ivhhn.o

rg

TH

EH

EA

LTH

HA

ZA

RD

S

OF

VO

LC

AN

ICA

SH

Aguid

efo

rthe

public

Cit

ies

an

dV

olc

an

oes

Co

mm

issio

n

USS

science

forach

angingworld

This

docum

ent

has

been

pre

pare

dby

the

Inte

rnati

onal

Volc

anic

Hea

lth

Haza

rdN

etw

ork

(IV

HH

N),

Cit

ies

and

Volc

anoes

Com

mis

sion,G

NS

Sci

ence

and

the

Unit

edS

tate

sG

eolo

gic

al

Surv

ey

(US

GS

)to

pro

mote

the

safe

tyof

those

who

exper

ience

volc

anic

ash

fall.

This

guid

eex

pla

ins

the

pote

nti

al

hea

lth

effe

cts

of

volc

anic

ash

and

giv

esdet

ails

on

how

topro

tect

yours

elf

and

your

fam

ily

inth

eev

ent

of

avo

lcanic

ash

fall.

TH

EH

EA

LTH

HA

ZA

RD

S

OF

VO

LC

AN

ICA

SH

Aguid

efo

rthe

public

Notes

This

docu

men

tw

as

wri

tten

by

apanel

of

IVH

HN

exper

tm

ember

sch

air

edby

Dr

Cla

ire

Horw

ell

and

Dr

Pet

erB

axte

rof

the

Univ

ersi

tyof

Cam

bri

dge,

UK

,

wit

hass

ista

nce

from

staff

ofth

eU

nit

edS

tate

sG

eolo

gic

alS

urv

ey.The

IVH

HN

isgra

tefu

lto

the

Lev

erhulm

eTru

st,U

K,fo

rfu

ndin

gass

oci

ate

dm

eeti

ngs,

and

toth

efo

llow

ing

peo

ple

forre

view

ing

this

guid

elin

edocu

men

t:

All

photo

sare

copyr

ight

toG

NS

Sci

ence

,ex

cept

for

the

follow

ing

whic

hhave

bee

nuse

dw

ith

the

per

mis

sion

of

thei

row

ner

s:page

3(G

isborn

eH

erald

),

page

9(T

ransp

ow

erN

ewZ

eala

nd),

page

10

low

erphoto

(New

Zea

land

Her

ald

)and

page

13

(Sco

ttB

arn

ard

,U

niv

ersi

tyofC

ante

rbury

).

-D

rB

ob

Mayn

ard

,D

epart

men

tof

Hea

lth,L

ondon,U

K;

-S

teve

Bra

ntl

ey,U

SG

SH

aw

aiian

Volc

ano

Obse

rvato

ry,H

aw

ai'i

,U

SA

;

-D

rP

hil

Wei

nst

ein,S

choolof

Popula

tion

Hea

lth,U

niv

ersi

tyof

Wes

tern

Aust

ralia,

Per

th,A

ust

ralia;

-D

rD

avi

dJohnst

on,G

NS

Sci

ence

,L

ow

erH

utt

,N

ewZ

eala

nd;

-S

cott

Barn

ard

,U

niv

ersi

tyof

Cante

rbury

,C

hri

stch

urc

h,N

ewZ

eala

nd;

-D

rC

aro

lS

tew

art

,W

ellingto

n,N

ewZ

eala

nd.

Acknow

ledgem

ents

1

1.W

hat

isvolc

anic

ash?..................................Page

2.W

hat

are

the

eff

ects

of

ash

on

healt

h?

................

.................................

.............. .....

.........................................

..........................................

...................

3.W

hat

to

do

to

protect

yourself

again

st

ash...........

4.Precautio

ns

for

children

.....................................

5.Sources

and

further

info

rm

atio

n..........................

2.1

Respir

atory

eff

ects

Why

are

people

wit

hchronic

lung

proble

ms

at

specia

lris

k?

What

factors

aff

ect

respir

atory

sym

ptom

s?

2.2

Eye

sym

ptom

s

2.3

Skin

irrit

atio

n

2.4

Indir

ect

healt

heff

ects

of

ashfa

ll

CO

NTEN

TS

2 4 4 5 6 7 8 8

11

14

15

2Volc

anic

ash

isco

mpose

doffi

ne

part

icle

soffr

agm

ente

dvo

lcanic

rock

(les

sth

an

2m

mdia

met

er).

Volc

anic

ash

isoft

enhot

very

close

toth

evo

lcano

butis

coolw

hen

itfa

lls

atgre

ate

rdis

tance

s.

Itis

form

edduri

ng

volc

anic

explo

sions,

from

ava

lanch

esof

hot

rock

thatfl

ow

dow

nth

esi

de

ofvo

lcanoes

,or

from

red-h

otliquid

lava

spra

y.A

shva

ries

inappea

rance

dep

endin

gupon

the

type

of

volc

ano

and

the

form

ofth

eer

upti

on.Thus,

itca

nra

nge

inco

lour

from

light

gre

yto

bla

ckand

can

vary

insi

zefr

om

bei

ng

like

gri

t

tobei

ng

as

fine

as

talc

um

pow

der

.A

irborn

eash

blo

cks

out

sunlight,

reduci

ng

visi

bilit

yand

som

etim

esca

use

sco

mple

te

dark

nes

sduri

ng

day

light.

La

rg

ea

sh

dep

osit

sca

n

inco

rpora

tein

toex

isti

ng

soils

and

bec

om

eth

efu

ture

topso

ilofa

volc

anic

regio

n.The

fert

ilit

yof

the

soils

aro

und

many

volc

anoes

isdue

toold

ash

dep

osi

ts.This

ben

efic

ialef

fect

of

volc

anis

moutw

eighs,

ove

rti

me,

the

haza

rds

.

Eru

pti

ons

can

als

ogen

erate

thunder

and

lightn

ing

from

fric

tion

betw

een

the

fine,

air

born

epart

icle

sw

hic

hca

nbe

loca

lise

dabove

the

volc

ano

or

acc

om

pany

larg

eash

plu

mes

as

they

move

dow

nw

ind.

from

infr

equen

ter

upti

ons,

sofe

rtile

volc

anic

are

as

are

oft

en

den

sely

popula

ted

1.W

hat

isvolc

anic

ash?

15

5.Sources

and

further

info

rm

atio

n

The

Inte

rnati

onalV

olc

anic

Hea

lth

Haza

rdN

etw

ork

(IV

HH

N)

was

founded

in

2003,and

isa

gro

up

ofex

per

tsw

ho

have

aco

mm

on

aim

ofunder

standin

gand

addre

ssin

gth

ehea

lth

effe

cts

ofvo

lcanic

emis

sions.

Exper

tm

ember

sw

ork

ina

range

of

dis

ciplines

such

as

volc

anolo

gy,

public

hea

lth

and

toxic

olo

gy.

For

furt

her

info

rmati

on,

visi

tth

eIV

HH

Nw

ebsi

te(w

ww

.ivh

hn.o

rg).

Many

reso

urc

es,

such

as

aguid

eto

reco

mm

ended

dust

mask

s,are

ava

ilable

on

the

web

site

.

The

Unit

edS

tate

sG

eolo

gic

alS

urv

ey(U

SG

S)w

ebsi

tepro

vides

info

rmati

on

on

effe

cts

of

ash

on

hea

lth

from

his

tori

caler

upti

ons,

and

furt

her

info

rmati

on

on

pote

nti

al

chro

nic

dis

ease

sca

use

dby

crys

tallin

esi

lica

and

volc

anic

ash

(htt

p://v

olc

anoes

.usg

s.gov/

ash

/hea

lth/index

.htm

l).

This

guid

eis

base

don

the

follow

ing

sourc

es

Res

iden

ts'g

uid

eto

the

state

of

the

Soufr

iere

Hills

volc

ano

follow

ing

the

scie

nti

fic

ass

essm

ent

of

July

1998

and

the

danger

sof

volc

anic

ash

,w

ith

tips

for

clea

nin

gup

ash

Volc

anic

ash

fall:how

tobe

pre

pare

dfo

ran

ash

fall.

Ash

part

icle

sand

hom

ecl

ean-u

ppro

ble

ms:

advi

cefr

om

the

Univ

ersi

tyof

Idaho.

Hea

lth

crit

eria

for

reocc

upati

on

of

ash

fall

are

as

inM

onts

erra

t.

The

mit

igati

on

of

ash

fall

dam

age

topublic

faci

liti

es:le

ssons

learn

edfr

om

the

1980

erupti

on

of

Mt.

St.

Hel

ens.

Volc

anic

haza

rds:

aso

urc

ebook

on

the

effe

cts

of

erupti

ons.

Mt.

St.

Hel

ens

Tech

nic

alIn

form

ati

on

Net

work

Bullet

in14

Pre

venti

vehea

lth

mea

sure

sin

volc

anic

erupti

ons.

.E

mer

gen

cyD

epart

men

t,S

tJohns,

Monts

erra

t,W

est

Indie

s,

August

1998.

US

GS

Casc

ades

Volc

ano

Obse

rvato

ry,V

anco

uve

r,W

ash

ingto

n,N

ove

mber

1999.

Mt.

St.

Hel

ens

Tec

hnic

alIn

form

ati

on

Net

work

Bullet

in7,Fed

eralC

oord

inati

ng

Net

work

,M

ay

1980.

Rep

ort

toth

e

Dep

art

men

tfo

rIn

tern

ati

onalD

evel

opm

ent,

London,by

P.J.B

axte

rand

R.L

.

Mayn

ard

,O

ctober

1998.

Wash

ingto

nF

eder

alE

mer

gen

cyM

anagem

ent

Agen

cy,R

egio

nX

,by

W.H

.M

aye

r,R

egio

nalD

irec

tor,

1984. By

R.J

.B

long,

Aca

dem

icP

ress

,S

ydney

,1984.

,1980.

By

P.J.B

axte

r,A

mer

ican

Journ

alof

Public

Hea

lth

76,pp

84-9

0,1986.

144.

Precautio

ns

for

children

Childre

nfa

ceth

esa

me

haza

rds

from

the

susp

ensi

on

of

ash

as

oth

erage

gro

ups,

but

thei

rex

posu

rem

ay

be

incr

ease

dbec

ause

they

are

phys

ically

smaller

and

are

less

likel

yto

adopt

reaso

nable

,pru

den

t,pre

venti

vem

easu

res

toavo

idunnec

essa

ry

exposu

reto

ash

.W

hile

evid

ence

sugges

tsth

atin

ges

tion

ofsm

all

am

ounts

of

ash

isnot

haza

rdous,

we

reco

mm

end

that

you

take

the

follow

ing

pre

cauti

ons:

Kee

pch

ildre

nin

doors

ifposs

ible

.

Childre

nsh

ould

be

advi

sed

again

st

stre

nuous

pla

yor

runnin

gw

hen

ash

isin

the

air

,si

nce

exer

tion

leads

to

hea

vier

bre

ath

ing,

dra

win

gsm

all

part

icle

sm

ore

dee

ply

into

the

lungs.

Com

munit

ies

inhea

vyash

fall

are

as

may

wis

hto

org

aniz

eday-

care

pro

gra

ms

tofr

eepare

nts

for

clea

n-

up

task

s.

Ifch

ildre

nm

ust

be

outd

oors

when

ash

ispre

sent

inth

e

air

,th

eysh

ould

wea

ra

mask

(pre

fera

bly

one

appro

ved

by

IVH

HN

).M

any

mask

s,how

ever

,are

des

igned

tofi

t

adult

sra

ther

than

childre

n.

Take

part

icula

rca

reto

pre

vent

childre

npla

ying

in

are

as

wher

eash

isdee

pon

the

gro

und

or

piled

up.

3

Fre

shly

fallen

ash

part

icle

sca

nhave

aci

dco

ati

ngs

whic

hm

ay

cause

irri

tati

on

toth

elu

ngs

and

eyes

.This

aci

dco

ati

ng

isra

pid

ly

rem

ove

dby

rain

,w

hic

hm

ay

then

pollute

loca

lw

ate

rsu

pplies

.

Aci

dic

ash

can

als

odam

age

veget

ati

on,l

eadin

gto

crop

failure

.

Inm

ost

erupti

ons,

volc

anic

ash

cause

sre

lati

vely

few

hea

lth

pro

ble

ms,

but

gen

erate

sm

uch

anxie

ty.

Peo

ple

can

be

more

fearf

ul

of

the

hea

lth

haza

rds

of

volc

anic

ash

and

gase

sth

an

of

the

risk

of

dyi

ng

from

more

majo

rhaza

rds,

such

as

pyr

ocl

ast

ic

flow

s.H

ow

ever

,ash

falls

can

aff

ect

very

wid

eare

as

aro

und

volc

anoes

and

may

cause

majo

rdis

rupti

on

tonorm

all

ivin

g.

Med

ical

serv

ices

can

expec

tan

incr

ease

inth

enum

ber

of

pati

ents

wit

hre

spir

ato

ryand

eye

sym

pto

ms

duri

ng

and

aft

eran

ash

fall

even

t(s

eeIV

HH

Nguid

elin

eson

advi

ceto

the

med

ical

com

munit

y).

42.1

Respir

atory

eff

ects

Inso

me

erupti

ons,

ash

part

icle

sca

nbe

sofi

ne

that

they

are

bre

ath

eddee

pin

toth

elu

ngs.

Wit

hhig

hex

posu

re,

even

hea

lthy

indiv

iduals

will

exper

ience

ches

tdis

com

fort

wit

hin

crea

sed

coughin

gand

irri

tati

on.

Com

mon

acute

(short

-term

)

sym

pto

msin

clude:

N

asa

lir

rita

tion

and

dis

charg

e(r

unny

nose

).

Thro

at

irri

tati

on

and

sore

thro

at,

som

etim

es

acc

om

panie

dby

dry

coughin

g.

Peo

ple

wit

hpre

-exis

ting

ches

tco

mpla

ints

may

dev

elop

seve

rebro

nch

itic

sym

pto

ms

whic

hla

stso

me

days

bey

ond

exposu

reto

ash

(for

exam

ple

,hack

ing

cough,pro

duct

ion

of

sputu

m,w

hee

zing,or

short

nes

sof

bre

ath

).

Air

way

irri

tati

on

for

peo

ple

wit

hast

hm

aor

bro

nch

itis

;

com

mon

com

pla

ints

of

peo

ple

wit

hast

hm

ain

clude

short

nes

sof

bre

ath

,w

hee

zing

and

coughin

g.

Bre

ath

ing

bec

om

esunco

mfo

rtable

.

Inra

reci

rcum

stance

s,lo

ng-t

erm

exposu

reto

fine

volc

anic

ash

may

lead

tose

rious

lung

dis

ease

s.F

or

thes

edis

ease

sto

occ

ur,

the

ash

must

be

very

fine,

conta

incr

ysta

llin

esi

lica

(for

the

dis

ease

silico

sis

toocc

ur)

and

the

peo

ple

must

be

expose

dto

the

ash

in

hig

hco

nce

ntr

ati

ons

ove

rm

any

years

.E

xposu

reto

crys

tallin

e

2.W

hat

are

the

eff

ects

of

ash

on

healt

h?

Eff

ects

of

ash

on

hea

lth

may

be

div

ided

into

seve

ralca

tegori

es:

resp

irato

ryef

fect

s,ey

esy

mpto

ms,

skin

irri

tati

on

and

indir

ect

effe

cts.

13

Hom

e-gro

wn

food

Cle

an-u

p

Ash

-cove

red

veget

able

sgro

wn

infi

elds

are

safe

toea

t

aft

erw

ash

ing

wit

hcl

ean

wate

r.

Lig

htl

yw

ate

rdow

nth

eash

dep

osi

tsbef

ore

they

are

rem

ove

dby

shove

llin

g,bei

ng

care

fulnot

toex

cess

ivel

y

wet

the

dep

osi

tson

roofs

,ca

usi

ng

exce

sslo

adin

gand

danger

of

collapse

.D

rybru

shin

gca

npro

duce

very

hig

h

exposu

rele

vels

and

should

be

avo

ided

.H

osi

ng

use

s

larg

equanti

ties

of

wate

rand

may

cause

wate

r

short

ages

inhea

vily

-popula

ted

are

as.

12

Aft

erlight

ash

fall

itis

usu

ally

safe

todri

nk

wate

r

conta

min

ate

dw

ith

ash

,but

itis

bet

ter

tofi

lter

off

the

ash

part

icle

sbef

ore

dri

nkin

g.H

ow

ever

,ash

incr

ease

s

the

chlo

rine

requir

emen

tin

dis

infe

cted

surf

ace

-

collec

ted

wate

rw

hic

h,th

eref

ore

,ca

nbe

mic

robio

logic

ally

unsa

feto

dri

nk.A

shw

illusu

ally

make

dri

nkin

gw

ate

runpala

table

(sour,

met

allic

or

bit

ter-

tast

ing)

bef

ore

itpre

sents

ahea

lth

risk

.The

safe

stw

ay

toen

sure

your

wel

l-bei

ng

isto

stock

up

on

wate

rpri

or

toth

eev

ent.

Collec

ten

ough

dri

nkin

gw

ate

rfo

rat

least

aw

eek

(up

toone

gallon

,or

3-4

litr

es,per

per

son

per

day)

.If

you

rely

on

collec

ting

rain

wate

r,co

ver

the

tank

and

dis

connec

tany

dow

npip

esbef

ore

ash

fall

occ

urs

.

Dri

nkin

gw

ate

r

5

Why

are

people

wit

hchronic

lung

proble

ms

at

specia

lris

k?

The

fine

ash

part

icle

sir

rita

teth

e

air

ways

and

cause

them

to

contr

act

,m

akin

gbre

ath

ing

more

dif

ficu

ltin

peo

ple

who

alr

eady

have

lung

pro

ble

ms.

The

fine

dust

als

o

cause

sth

elinin

gof

the

air

ways

to

pro

duce

more

secr

etio

ns

whic

hca

n

cause

peo

ple

toco

ugh

and

bre

ath

e

more

hea

vily

.A

sthm

asu

ffer

ers,

espec

ially

childre

nw

ho

may

be

hea

vily

expose

dto

the

ash

when

they

pla

y,m

ay

suff

erbouts

of

coughin

g,

tightn

ess

of

the

ches

t

and

whee

zing.

Som

epeo

ple

who

have

nev

erknow

ingly

had

ast

hm

abef

ore

,m

ay

exper

ience

ast

hm

asy

mpto

ms

follow

ing

an

ash

fall,es

pec

ially

ifth

eygo

outd

oors

inth

eash

and

ove

r-ex

ert

them

selv

es.

silica

invo

lcanic

ash

isty

pic

ally

ofsh

ort

dura

tion

(days

tow

eeks)

,

and

studie

ssu

gges

tth

at

the

reco

mm

ended

exposu

relim

its

(sim

ilar

inm

ost

countr

ies)

can

be

exce

eded

for

short

per

iods

of

tim

efo

rth

egen

eralp

opula

tion.

Peo

ple

suff

erin

gfr

om

ast

hm

aor

oth

erlu

ng

pro

ble

ms

such

as

bro

nch

itis

and

emphys

ema,

and

seve

rehea

rtpro

ble

ms

are

most

atri

sk.

6What

factors

aff

ect

respir

atory

sym

ptom

s?

The

dev

elopm

entofre

spir

ato

rysy

mpto

ms

from

the

inhala

tion

of

volc

anic

ash

dep

ends

on

anum

ber

of

fact

ors

.Thes

ein

clude

the

conce

ntr

ati

on

of

part

icle

sin

the

air

,th

epro

port

ion

of

fine

part

icle

sin

the

ash

,th

efr

equen

cyand

dura

tion

ofex

posu

re,th

e

pre

sence

of

crys

tallin

esi

lica

and

volc

anic

gase

sor

aer

oso

ls

mix

edw

ith

the

ash

,and

met

eoro

logic

al

condit

ions.

Exis

ting

hea

lth

condit

ions

and

the

use

of

resp

irato

rypro

tect

ive

equip

men

tw

illa

lso

infl

uen

ceth

esy

mpto

msex

per

ience

d.

113.

What

to

do

to

protect

yourself

again

st

ash

Imm

edia

tely

aft

eran

ash

fall,ev

ena

light

one,

dri

ving

condit

ions,

visi

bilit

yand

air

quality

can

be

dra

mati

cally

aff

ecte

d,es

pec

ially

by

the

resu

spen

sion

of

ash

by

traff

ic.R

ain

fall

has

asu

dden

but

tem

pora

ryef

fect

in

impro

ving

air

quality

unti

lth

eash

dri

esout

again

.W

e

reco

mm

end

that,

follow

ing

an

ash

fall,yo

ure

frain

from

dri

ving

and

stay

indoors

ifposs

ible

.If

you

must

dri

ve,

main

tain

ala

rge

dis

tance

from

the

vehic

lein

front

of

you

and

dri

vesl

ow

ly.

Kee

pall

doors

and

win

dow

scl

ose

dw

hen

ever

poss

ible

.

Lim

itdri

ving

Red

uce

ash

inyo

ur

house

Pro

tect

ion

Eye

pro

tect

ion

Those

under

takin

gcl

ean-u

poper

ati

ons

should

alw

ays

wea

ref

fect

ive

dust

mask

s(s

eeIV

HH

NR

ecom

men

ded

Mask

sdocu

men

tat

ww

w.ivh

hn.o

rg).

Ifno

appro

ved

mask

isava

ilable

,a

fabri

cm

ask

impro

vise

dfr

om

cloth

willfi

lter

out

the

larg

erash

part

icle

sw

hic

hm

ay

contr

ibute

toth

roat

and

eye

irri

tati

on.D

am

pen

ing

the

fabri

cw

ith

wate

rw

illim

pro

veit

sef

fect

iven

ess.

Peo

ple

wit

hch

ronic

bro

nch

itis

,em

phys

ema

or

ast

hm

aare

advi

sed

tost

ay

insi

de

and

avo

idunnec

essa

ryex

posu

re

toash

.

Infi

ne-

ash

envi

ronm

ents

,w

ear

goggle

sor

corr

ecti

ve

eyeg

lass

esin

stea

dof

conta

ctle

nse

sto

pro

tect

eyes

from

irri

tati

on.

10

E

ffec

tson

sanit

ati

on

(wast

ew

ate

rdis

posa

let

c).

The

tem

pora

rydis

able

men

tof

munic

ipalsa

nit

ati

on

syst

ems

may

lead

toin

crea

sed

dis

ease

inaff

ecte

dare

as.

1)

Roofs

can

collapse

from

the

wei

ght

of

ash

,

resu

ltin

gin

inju

ryor

dea

thfo

rth

ose

under

nea

th.

2)

Ther

eis

adanger

of

roof

collapse

whilst

clea

ring

ash

from

roofs

due

toth

ein

crea

sed

load

of

aper

son

on

an

alr

eady

ove

rloaded

roof.

3)

Inse

vera

ler

upti

ons

peo

ple

have

die

daft

erfa

llin

g

from

thei

rro

ofs

while

clea

nin

gup

ash

.

Ifth

eash

isco

ate

d

inhyd

rofl

uori

caci

d,

the

ash

can

be

very

toxic

togra

zing

anim

als

ifth

ey

inges

tash

-cove

red

gra

ssand

soil.

Ris

kof

roof

collapse

Anim

alhea

lth

7

Com

mon

sym

pto

ms

incl

ude:

E Corn

ealabra

sions

or

scra

tches

.

Acu

teco

nju

nct

ivit

isor

the

infl

am

mati

on

of

the

conju

nct

ivalsa

cth

at

surr

ounds

the

eyeb

all

due

toth

e

pre

sence

of

ash

,w

hic

hle

ads

tore

dnes

s,burn

ing

of

the

eyes

,and

photo

sensi

tivi

ty.

ye

sfe

elin

gas

though

ther

eare

fore

ign

part

icle

sin

them

.

Eye

sbec

om

ing

pain

ful,

itch

yor

blo

odsh

ot.

Sti

cky

dis

charg

eor

teari

ng.

2.2

Eye

sym

ptom

s

Eye

irri

tati

on

isa

com

mon

hea

lth

effe

ctas

pie

ces

of

gri

tca

n

cause

pain

ful

scra

tches

inth

efr

ont

of

the

eye

(corn

eal

abra

sions)

and

conju

nct

ivit

is.

Conta

ctle

ns

wea

rers

nee

dto

be

espec

ially

aw

are

of

this

pro

ble

mand

leave

out

thei

rle

nse

sto

pre

ventco

rnea

labra

sion

from

occ

urr

ing.

82.4

Indir

ect

healt

heff

ects

of

ashfa

ll

2.3

Skin

Irrit

atio

n

While

not

com

mon,

volc

anic

ash

can

cause

skin

irri

tati

on

for

som

epeo

ple

,esp

ecia

lly

ifth

eash

isaci

dic

.

Sym

pto

ms

incl

ude:

Irri

tati

on

and

redden

ing

of

the

skin

.

Sec

ondary

infe

ctio

ns

due

tosc

ratc

hin

g.

As

wel

las

the

short

and

long

term

hea

lth

risk

s,in

dir

ect

impact

sof

larg

eash

falls

must

als

obe

consi

der

ed.

Thes

em

ain

lyari

sefr

om

the

seco

ndary

conse

quen

ces

of

ash

fall,

forex

am

ple

:

on

hea

lth

The

reduct

ion

invi

sibilit

yfr

om

air

born

eash

alo

ne

may

cause

acc

iden

ts.This

danger

isco

mpounded

by

ash

cove

ring

roads.

Not

only

are

road

mark

ings

cove

red

up,

but

thin

laye

rsof

eith

erw

etor

dry

ash

are

very

slip

per

y,re

duci

ng

tract

ion.Thic

kdep

osi

tsof

ash

may

make

roads

impass

able

,cu

ttin

goff

com

munit

ies

from

basi

csu

pplies

.

Eff

ects

on

roads

9

Ash

fall

can

lead

topow

er

cuts

.Thes

em

ay

have

implica

tions

for

hea

lth

due

tola

ckof

hea

ting

or

oth

erin

frast

ruct

ura

l

requir

emen

tsth

at

dep

end

on

elec

tric

ity.

Wet

ash

is

conduct

ive,

soit

ises

senti

al

that

safe

oper

ati

ng

pro

cedure

sare

stri

ngen

tly

follow

edw

hen

clea

nin

g

pow

ersu

pply

equip

men

t.

Eff

ects

on

pow

er

Ash

fall

can

cause

conta

min

ati

on

of

wate

ror

cloggin

g

and

dam

age

of

wate

rsu

pply

equip

men

t.S

mall,open

wate

rsu

pplies

such

as

dom

esti

cw

ate

rta

nks

wit

hro

of

dra

inage

are

espec

ially

vuln

erable

tovo

lcanic

ash

fall,

and

even

small

quanti

ties

of

ash

may

cause

pro

ble

ms

for

pota

bilit

y.W

hile

the

risk

of

toxic

ity

islo

w,th

epH

may

be

reduce

dor

chlo

rinati

on

inhib

ited

.D

uri

ng

and

aft

erash

falls,

ther

eis

als

olikel

yto

be

extr

aw

ate

r

dem

and

for

clea

n-u

p,re

sult

ing

inw

ate

rsh

ort

ages

.

Eff

ects

on

wate

rsu

pplies