I live a few miles from Sakurajima, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. I have a phenomenal view of it from my apartment balcony. Scary? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. The likelihood of a mega-eruption is rather low, thanks to the fact that Sakurajima is in an almost constant state of eruption (smallish ones). Sometimes, if the wind is blowing a certain direction, ash falls all over the city.
The other day I was caught in one such ash-dusting while I was riding my bike. Not cool. Ash was stinging my eyes and turning my blonde hair a grayish color. I usually carry around some glasses and a little mouth-mask for just such occasions, but there’s no good remedy for ashy clothing.
You may think ash would easily brush off a shirt. Nope… actually, rather than being light little flakes, the ash is a bit on the sticky side. It pretty much smears all over and imbeds itself in the fibers of clothing. Just imagine what it does to the lungs… luckily, I don’t have to breathe the stuff in often, since the wind doesn’t usually blow the ash towards the city.
Growing up in Wisconsin, I never imagined I would live near a volcano, much less an active one. I love waking up in the morning, looking out the window, and watch the earth take care of itself by spitting ash and lava out of the huge mountain. It’s an amazing thing to witness. I just prefer to watch it without ash in my eyes.
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Even when the ash isn't thick, is it still in the air in small, invisible particles? If it is, what sort of effect DOES it have on the lungs? I wonder if the number of people with lung problems is higher near the volcano that those who do not live near volcanoes?
I'll bet the volcano is a beautiful thing to look at everyday, though. Being a mid-western girl myself, I'll bet it's an awesome site to see compared to all of the flatness here.
My guess is there probably are some negative consequences to living near a volcano for an extended period of time. However, it doesn't seem to cause many problems for the people around here. I live on one of the most volcanic islands in Japan, but it's also the island with the second-longest life expectancy in the country. I don't know if Japanese people are just used to breathing in volcanic dust, or what. I should do a bit of research about the topic...