HONOLULU (AP) - The United States Environmental Protection Agency says Hawaii island has the highest rate of sulfur dioxide emission in the nation - a distinction established before this month’s toxic eruptions began pouring from Kilauea Volcano.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Dr. Elizabeth Tam - chairwoman of medicine at the University of Hawaii medical school - found that the air pollution output from Kilauea was equal to one-tenth of the annual pollution for all of China.
This came before the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued on Sunday a new Kilauea Volcano air quality warning.
The warning is due to the amount of lava haze, which is created when hot lava comes into contact with cold seawater.
The contact produces a dense white plume of steam laced with hydrochloric acid and glass particles, which is now occurring on the island’s southeast coast.
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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com
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