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USGS mulls volcanic gas sensors for EMO
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Posted on Apr 13 2006
The U.S. Geological Survey is planning to provide the Emergency Management Office with equipment needed to monitor the concentration of volcanic gases in the Marianas atmosphere.
USGS volcano hazards program coordinator Dr. James E. Quick disclosed that this June, they would try to give the EMO SO2 (sulfur dioxide) and H2S (hydrogen sulfide) sensors.
Quick said it is important for EMO to acquire these sensors so that when people in the Marianas start noticing gas smells and observing haze in the air they can be provided information on the concentration of gases.
With these sensors, people can understand whether the gases pose a threat or not to the public’s health, he added.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, SO2 is a colorless gas with a sharp, irritating odor. It is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) and the smelting of mineral ores that contain sulfur. Erupting volcanoes can be a significant natural source of sulfur dioxide.
H2S is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs (from the sulfur). Often referred to as “sewer gas”, it is highly poisonous.
Last week, EMO, in its volcanic haze and sulfur advisory, stressed that there are no significant sulfurous volcanic gases in the air over the Marianas, based on the assessment from the National Weather Service Guam.
EMO said information coming from the National Weather Service and USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory indicated that Anatahan has been putting out a weak gas and steam plume over the last month.
The gas and plume, EMO said, have been steadily blowing or tracking southwest away from Saipan.
But EMO advised residents with respiratory problems or asthma to minimize prolonged outdoor exposures during the time that dust is present in the air.
Quick is currently on island with visiting geologists James Kauahikaua, Bill Burton and Dave Wear.
Quick has underscored the need to establish a Marianas volcano observatory on Saipan to monitor the Anatahan volcano and eight other northern islands reportedly formed by active volcanoes.
