HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-04 LAZE Bullet Points -- press release
Laze Hazard
Laze is formed when hot lava hits the ocean sending hydrochloric acid and steam
with fine glass particles into the air.
Health hazards of laze include irritation to your lungs, eyes and skin.
Be aware that the laze plume travels with the wind and can change direction
without warning.
The lava has entered the ocean. Residents and visitors should avoid this plume at the
entry point and downwind, as even the wispy edges can cause skin and eye irritation
and breathing difficulties. Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean
plume.
"Laze" plumes laden with hydrochloric acid, steam, and volcanic glass particles form
where lava enters the sea.
Lava entering ocean creates localized air pollution (laze)
When molten lava flows into the ocean, it reacts vigorously with sea water
to create a different type of gas plume that results in hazy and noxious
conditions downwind of an ocean entry. Referred to as a "laze" plume (for a
blending of the words 'lava' and 'haze'), it forms through a series of chemical
reactions as hot lava boils seawater to dryness. The plume is an irritating
mixture of hydrochloric acid gas (HCl), steam, and tiny volcanic glass
particles. This hot, corrosive gas mixture caused two deaths immediately
adjacent to the coastal entry point in 2000, when seawater washed across
recent and active lava flows. Visitors should avoid this plume at the entry
point and downwind, as even the wispy edges of it can cause skin and eye
irritation and breathing difficulties. Acid rain from the plume has a pH
between 1.5 and 3.5, and has the corrosive properties of dilute battery acid.
The ocean-entry plume is blown in various directions by wind. Downslope
air flow from nighttime through early morning typically blows the laze plume
off shore and out to sea. Between mid-morning and late afternoon, however,
trade wind conditions blows the plume along the coast and inland, resulting in
locally poor air quality.
Sourced from: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_gas.html