the health hazards of volcanic ash a guide for the … · the health hazards of volcanic ash a...
TRANSCRIPT
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
US
Ssc
ience
fora
changin
gw
orl
d
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
2
Volc
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.W
hat
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