Meteorological factors controlling soil gases and indoor CO2 concentration: A permanent risk in degassing areas

Viveiros, Fátima; Ferreira, Teresa; Silva, Catarina; Gaspar, J. L.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.009

Cited by 59 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The group exposed to the volcanically active environment consisted of 120 inhabitants (90 women and 30 men) from Furnas village (Table 1). This village is located inside the Furnas volcano caldera, where present-day volcanic activity is marked by several hydrothermal manifestations consisting of active fumarolic fields and hydrothermal vents (Booth et al, 1978;Cruz, 2003) and soil diffuse degassing areas with the always present "rotten egg" odor (Viveiros et al, 2008(Viveiros et al, , 2009 , alcohol consumption, frequent use of mouthwash, performance of X-rays in the previous week, and general health status. Only individuals that resided for more than five years in each locality were considered for this study.…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite all the hazards associated with the activity of volcanoes, the richness of the soils in nutrients increasingly attracts people to live on or in the vicinity of active volcanoes, as it happens, in the Azores and Hawaii archipelagos, oceanic islands of hotspot volcanism (Amaral and Rodrigues, 2011;Hansell et al, 2006). Present-day volcanic activity in the Azores archipelago is marked by several hydrothermal manifestations consisting of active fumarolic fields, thermal and cold CO 2 springs and soil diffuse degassing areas (Baxter et al, 1999;Viveiros et al, 2008Viveiros et al, , 2009). According to these authors one of the major soil diffuse degassing areas of the archipelago extends below Furnas village.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to these authors one of the major soil diffuse degassing areas of the archipelago extends below Furnas village. Soil diffuse degassing areas are potentially one of the main hazardous zones to humans, as gases and aerosols are continuously released (not only during the eruptive unrest, but also in quiescent phases of the volcanoes) and can rise below edifices without being noticed by the population (Viveiros et al, 2009). Among such gases, the following are highlighted for Furnas soil diffuse degassing areas and fumarolic discharges: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and, the radioactive gas radon (Rn) (Ferreira et al, 2005;Viveiros et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil diffuse degassing areas are potentially one of the main hazardous zones to humans, as gases and aerosols are continuously released (not only during the eruptive unrest, but also in quiescent phases of the volcanoes) and can rise below edifices without being noticed by the population (Viveiros et al, 2009). Among such gases, the following are highlighted for Furnas soil diffuse degassing areas and fumarolic discharges: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and, the radioactive gas radon (Rn) (Ferreira et al, 2005;Viveiros et al, 2009). Carbon dioxide is the most important material released by soil degassing in Furnas (hydrothermal soil CO 2 emissions in Furnas volcano are estimated to be~968 t d −1 ), and if present at high concentrations can become particularly dangerous for public health, since it prevents oxygen respiration (Viveiros et al, 2009(Viveiros et al, , 2010, with asphyxia occurring at a concentration around 10 vol.% (Durand, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among such gases, the following are highlighted for Furnas soil diffuse degassing areas and fumarolic discharges: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and, the radioactive gas radon (Rn) (Ferreira et al, 2005;Viveiros et al, 2009). Carbon dioxide is the most important material released by soil degassing in Furnas (hydrothermal soil CO 2 emissions in Furnas volcano are estimated to be~968 t d −1 ), and if present at high concentrations can become particularly dangerous for public health, since it prevents oxygen respiration (Viveiros et al, 2009(Viveiros et al, , 2010, with asphyxia occurring at a concentration around 10 vol.% (Durand, 2006). Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, flammable and noxious asphyxiant gas, having the distinctive odor of rotten eggs recognizable at concentration up to 30 ppm; at low concentrations (up to 50 ppm) it can cause irritation of the conjunctivae and depressive states, whereas when at high concentrations it can irritate the upper respiratory tract, causing pharyngitis and bronchitis, and in the lungs, especially as a result of long-term exposures, it promotes pulmonary edema (Amaral and Rodrigues, 2011;Durand, 2006;Durand and Wilson, 2006); a possible association between this gas and cancer was suggested by Attene-Ramos et al (2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

Rodrigues¹,

Arruda

Garcia

2012

Environment International

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This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. The present study was designed to evaluate whether chronic exposure to a volcanically active environment might result in genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in human oral epithelial cells. A study group of 120 individuals inhabiting a volcanically active environment (exposed group; Furnas village) and a reference group of 122 individuals inhabiting a village without manifestations of volcanic activity (Santo António village) were examined in this study. Individuals from Furnas village inhabit a volcanically active environment marked by several degassing manifestations, including fumarolic fields, thermal and cold CO 2 springs and soil diffuse degassing areas. For each individual, 1000 buccal epithelial cells were analyzed for the frequency of micronucleated cells (MNC) and the frequency of cells with other nuclear anomalies (ONA: pyknosis, karyolysis and karyorrhexis), by using the micronucleus assay. Information on life-style factors and an informed consent were obtained from each participant. The frequencies of MNC and of ONA per 1000 cells in the exposed group (4.3‰ and 23.5‰, respectively) were significantly higher than in the reference group (1.7‰ and 7.7‰, respectively). The risk of having a high frequency of MNC or ONA was 2.4 and 3.1-fold higher in exposed individuals compared to reference group. The analyzed confounding factors (age, gender, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and mouthwash use) did not show any significant association with the frequency of MNC or ONA. The higher risk of DNA damage in individuals inhabiting a volcanically active environment is for the first time clearly highlighted with this biomonitoring study. Given that MNC in oral epithelia are recognized as a predictive biomarker of cancer risk within a population of healthy subjects, these findings could contribute to explain the high incidence rates of lip, oral cavity and pharynx cancers previously referred for Furnas village inhabitants.

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Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

Rodrigues¹,

Arruda

Garcia

2012

Environment International

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The Syabru‐Bensi hydrothermal system in central Nepal: 1. Characterization of carbon dioxide and radon fluxes

et al. 2014

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The Syabru-Bensi hydrothermal system (SBHS), located at the Main Central Thrust zone in central Nepal, is characterized by hot (30-62°C) water springs and cold (<35°C) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) degassing areas. From 2007 to 2011, five gas zones (GZ1-GZ5) were studied, with more than 1600 CO 2 and 850 radon flux measurements, with complementary self-potential data, thermal infrared imaging, and effective radium concentration of soils. Measurement uncertainties were evaluated in the field. CO 2 and radon fluxes vary over 5 to 6 orders of magnitude, reaching exceptional maximum values of 236 ± 50 kg m À2 d À1 and 38.5 ± 8.0 Bq m À2 s À1 , with estimated integrated discharges over all gas zones of 5.9 ± 1.6 t d À1 and 140 ± 30 MBq d À1 , respectively. Soil-gas radon concentration is 40 × 10 3 Bq m À3 in GZ1-GZ2 and 70 × 10 3 Bq m À3 in GZ3-GZ4. Strong relationships between CO 2 and radon fluxes in all gas zones (correlation coefficient R = 0.86 ± 0.02) indicate related gas transport mechanisms and demonstrate that radon can be considered as a relevant proxy for CO 2 . CO 2 carbon isotopic ratios (δ 13 C from À1.7 ± 0.1 to À0.5 ± 0.1‰), with the absence of mantle signature (helium isotopic ratios R/R A < 0.05), suggest metamorphic decarbonation at depth. Thus, the SBHS emerges as a unique geosystem with significant deep origin CO 2 discharge located in a seismically active region, where we can test methodological issues and our understanding of transport properties and fluid circulations in the subsurface.

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Periodic behavior of soil CO₂ emissions in diffuse degassing areas of the Azores archipelago: Application to seismovolcanic monitoring

et al. 2014

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Time series of soil CO 2 efflux recorded in the Azores archipelago volcanic-hydrothermal areas feature daily and seasonal variations. The recorded CO 2 efflux values were lower during summer than in the winter season. The diurnal CO 2 efflux values were higher at dawn and lower in the early afternoon, contrary to that observed in biogenic environments. CO 2 efflux cycles correlated well with the environmental variables, such as air temperature, wind speed, and barometric pressure, which also showed low-and high-frequency periodicities. Several simulations were performed here using the Transport of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat 2 (TOUGH2) geothermal simulator to complement the study of Rinaldi et al. (2012). The effects of the water table depth, air temperature perturbation amplitude, and soil thermal gradient contributed to an explanation of the contrasts observed in the diurnal (S 1 ) and semidiurnal (S 2 ) soil CO 2 efflux peaks for the different monitoring sites and seasons. Filtering techniques (multivariate regression analysis and fast Fourier transform filters) were also applied to the recorded time series to remove effects of external variables on the soil CO 2 efflux. The resulting time series (the residuals) correspond to the best approach to the deep-seated (volcanic/hydrothermal) CO 2 emissions and thus should be used in seismovolcanic monitoring programs. Even if no evident correlation can be established yet between the soil CO 2 residuals and seismicity over the monitored time, a seismic swarm that occurred around the end of 2008 might have triggered some deviations from the observed daily cycles.

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Meteorological factors controlling soil gases and indoor CO2 concentration: A permanent risk in degassing areas

Cited by 59 publications

References 49 publications

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

The Syabru‐Bensi hydrothermal system in central Nepal: 1. Characterization of carbon dioxide and radon fluxes

Periodic behavior of soil CO₂ emissions in diffuse degassing areas of the Azores archipelago: Application to seismovolcanic monitoring

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Meteorological factors controlling soil gases and indoor CO2 concentration: A permanent risk in degassing areas

Cited by 59 publications

References 49 publications

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

The Syabru‐Bensi hydrothermal system in central Nepal: 1. Characterization of carbon dioxide and radon fluxes

Periodic behavior of soil CO2 emissions in diffuse degassing areas of the Azores archipelago: Application to seismovolcanic monitoring

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Periodic behavior of soil CO₂ emissions in diffuse degassing areas of the Azores archipelago: Application to seismovolcanic monitoring