PM<sub>10</sub> measurements in urban settlements after lava fountain episodes at Mt. Etna, Italy: pilot test to assess volcanic ash hazard to human health

Abstract

Abstract.We have carried out a preliminary study on the potential risks caused by the sub-10 µm fraction of volcanic ash (particulate matter, PM 10 ) after the basaltic explosive eruptions from Mt. Etna volcano (Italy), which have dramatically increased in frequency over the last 20 years. We present results deriving from the study of the ash concentration in the air following the lava fountain episode from the New Southeast Crater of Etna on 15 November 2011, which caused tephra fallout over the eastern slope of the volcano. Shortduration tests of PM 10 measurements were carried out at three different sites using a TSI ® DustTrak ™ aerosol monitor a few hours after the end of the eruption, and readouts of the air quality were repeated at the same sites a month later without volcanic activity. Furthermore, ash samples were characterized by grain size, componentry and morphological and petrochemical analyses.By comparing PM 10 levels measured a few hours after the 15 November lava fountain and on 15 December, we found that relatively low amounts (500-1500 g m −2 ) of tephra fallout cause high levels of PM 10 in the air. This is because the coarse particles, particularly basaltic ash, are readily broken up by traffic and hence remobilized into the air. We believe the impact from ash fallout in the Etnean territory should receive greater attention, especially regarding potential health problems. Simple but effective actions can be implemented to reduce eventual risks, first and foremost the prompt removal of the ash deposits from the urbanized areas.

Modeling Eruption Source Parameters by Integrating Field, Ground‐Based, and Satellite‐Based Measurements: The Case of the 23 February 2013 Etna Paroxysm

“…On one hand, the tephra can affect the populations in the vicinity of the volcano (e.g., fallout and tephra accumulation hazards; Andronico et al, 2015). On the other hand, fine ash has high impact both near the source with the effects of PM 10 on public health (Andronico & Del Carlo, 2016;Horwell, 2007;Horwell et al, 2013Horwell et al, , 2017Tomašek et al, 2016) and far away from the volcano with threat on air traffic (Casadevall, 1994;Casadevall et al, 1999;Guffanti et al, 2005). Quantifying airborne ash (i.e., PM 10 ) released during the 23 February 2013 lava fountain, PM 10 dispersed in the atmosphere remaining above 2 g/m 2 for 6 hr after the paroxysm up to several hundreds of kilometers from the source (see section 5.3 and Figures 7 and S2).…”

“…Besides the aviation hazard, volcanic ash also affects populations living near active volcanoes (e.g., Sulpizio et al, 2012). In particular, PM 10 has respiratory health effects even for eruptions produced by Etna (e.g., Andronico & Del Carlo, 2016;Horwell, 2007;Horwell et al, 2013Horwell et al, , 2017Rose & Durant, 2009;Tomašek et al, 2016).…”

Reconstructing volcanic plume evolution integrating satellite and ground-based data: application to the 23 November 2013 Etna eruption

“…However, collecting field data on tephra deposit greatly depends on the atmospheric conditions, land/sea deposition, site accessibility, etc. As a consequence, for an inadequate sample dataset in terms of sampling distance from the source (Andronico et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2016a), spatial distribution, and density of samples (Bonadonna et al, 2015;Spanu et al, 2016), the field-derived TGSD is uncertain and cannot be assumed as representative of the whole tephra loading and dispersal. Additionally, the atmospheric residence time of the very fine ash (i.e.…”

Mechanisms of Ash Generation at Basaltic Volcanoes: The Case of Mount Etna, Italy

“…In the presence of an eruption column, ash particles are volcanic fragments up to 2 mm in size that are dispersed to large distances from the eruptive centre in comparison to coarser fragments (e.g., bombs and lapilli) that fall in more proximal areas. Abundant ash has characterised most of the explosive activity at Mount Etna, Italy, since 1995 (Figure 1) (e.g., La Delfa et al, 2001;Alparone et al, 2003;Andronico et al, 2009aAndronico et al, , 2015 and references therein), often deeply affecting people's everyday life and the overall economy of Eastern Sicily (e.g., Barsotti et al, 2010;Andronico et al, 2014a;Andronico and Del Carlo, 2016;Horwell et al, 2017). At Etna ash emissions accompany different eruptive styles, from mild to moderate Strombolian explosions to high energy lava fountain activity (e.g., Andronico et al, 2008aAndronico et al, , 2015, from shortlasting ash explosions to long-lasting explosive eruptions like those occurred in 2001 (20 days; e.g., Taddeucci et al, 2002;Scollo et al, 2007) and in -2003e.g., Andronico et al, 2005).…”