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Assessing the air quality hazards of chronic exposures to volcanic gases and particulate matter on Montserrat, Eastern Caribbean

Rosie Lewis 1, Evgenia Ilyinskaya1, Claire J. Horwell2, James B. McQuaid1, Jurgen Neuberg1, Christine F. Braban3

  • Affiliations: 1School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.  2Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK. 3UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK. 

  • Presentation type: Talk

  • Presentation time: Monday 16:15 - 16:30, Room R290

  • Programme No: 6.6.3

  • Theme 6 > Session 6

Abstract

Soufrière Hills volcano has not erupted ash since 2011 yet emits roughly 440 tonnes per day of sulphur dioxide (SO2) with recent spikes reaching up to 1000 tonnes per day. Depending on meteorological conditions, local communities on Montserrat may be exposed to variable and potentially poor air quality through high concentrations of SO2 and other key species such as PM2.5. As SO2 is known to cause health problems even in low concentrations and PM classified as a carcinogen, monitoring of these pollutants is needed to facilitate assessment of the chronic health risks of volcanic emissions. This project aims to conduct the first calibrated, high temporal resolution assessment of the concentrations and dispersion of SO2 and PM on Montserrat to advise local agencies on ambient air quality levels and allow for risk assessment, reviewing the case for long term air quality monitoring. Discussions with government officials and local scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) were used to co-develop this research. During 2023 & 2024 field campaigns, a 13 site SO2 and PM sensor network was installed to collect data for 2 years. Here, we present its calibrated, high-resolution time series data, as well as compositional analyses and imaging of filter-pack data.