honoluluadvertiser.com | Vog | The Honolulu Advertiser

It's been two years since a new Big Island volcanic vent at Halema'uma'u Crater opened, doubling the amount of emissions sent into the air and changing the lives, and likely the health, of thousands who live in Pahala and other rural communities downwind from the volcano.

RESOURCES

CHECK CURRENT AIR CONDITIONS:

Real-time sulfur dioxide levels on the Big Island: www.hiso2index.info

EPA current, next-day Air Quality Index: www.airnow.gov

All islands, real-time air quality reports. Click on Air Quality, then Clean Air Branch and scroll down to Online Air Quality Data.:
hawaii.gov

Sulfur dioxide levels at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:
www.nature.nps.gov

State Health Department's daily vog levels helpline: 866-767-5044

READ INFORMATION ON VOG

State vog information page: www.hawaii.gov/gov/vog

Hawaii County vog advisories: www.co.hawaii.hi.us/cd/

Kilauea eruption daily updates: hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

WHAT'S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE

Up-to-date information on volcanic activity around the world: www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

Research on volcano health: www.ivhhn.org/

Links to volcano observatories: www.wovo.org

Posted on: April 25, 2010
Vog smothering Big Isle

On a bench behind Pāhala Senior Center one recent morning, 87-year-old Taka Fukunaga and George Andrade, 72, were waiting out a bout of heavy vog in the shade � about the best you can do in this community where not even the senior center has air conditioning. More

Vog on Oahu not a long-term threat (Apr 25, 2010)

The soupy blanket of volcanic haze that rolls in and settles over Honolulu's skyline when tradewinds slow or stop can be just miserable.

Farmers, ranchers live under financial fallout (Apr 25, 2010)

Lani Petrie is up early on what was supposed to be a rare Saturday off. Some cattle are arriving from another ranch on the Big Island and they are showing symptoms of a copper deficiency � one of the effects seen in cattle exposed to vog high in sulfur dioxide, which leeches copper (a needed nutrient) from their bodies.

Posted on: April 26, 2010
Stiffer air quality standards sought

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to strengthen its air quality standards for sulfur dioxide � a change that reflects new concerns about the health effects of exposure to the gas. Sulfur dioxide is one of the major components in volcanic emissions. More

Ka'ū in the thick of vog (Apr 26, 2010)

Kau Hospital, which sits at the gateway to this rural community in the state's voggiest corridor, is the only option for acute care in a district the size of Oahu. But with no central air and few air purifiers, it's hardly a refuge in a place where sulfur dioxide concentrations in vog often get dangerously high.

Haze not well studied (Apr 26, 2010)
Volcanic eruptions around the world spew out thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide and other gases. Yet, there are few long-term studies that examine the effects of elevated sulfur dioxide levels on people who live near volcanoes, researchers say.

Posted on: April 27, 2010
Vog's new twist is its extended duration

In 1968, the state considered the possibility, though remote, of evacuating Hilo because of high sulfur dioxide levels in volcanic emissions spewing from Kilauea. More

Like vog, future's up in air (Apr 27, 2010)
PĀHALA � Kaiwi Perkins keeps her windows closed and her door shut but still the sulfur dioxide creeps in, making it so hard for her to breathe she's now on oxygen almost every day.

UH scientists aim to predict vog levels (Apr 27, 2010)

It's easy to find out whether tomorrow or next week promises rain or sunshine. But try getting a forecast on vog conditions. Depending on what you're looking for (a one-day glance ahead or a week-long outlook), it's difficult to impossible.

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