On Thursday 15 April, the UK Guardian reported that a phone call in the dead of night was the first inkling the people living on the Thorvaldseyri farm had that the Icelandic glacier-covered Eyjafjallajokull volcano was about to erupt, spewing deadly toxic debris into the environment.
The call came from a polite protection official to Hanna Lara Andrews, a half-English, half-Icelandic farmer who lived on a farm astatine the base of the mountain which was about to explode. She had only 20 proceedings to evacuate her entire family for fear of the devastating effects of torrents of meltwater that were expected to flow onto her property from the mountain that loomed high above.
Can you imagine the fear that the people of the district surrounding the volcano mustiness have felt on the night the mountain exploded? This event also showed how fragile humanity is against a giant that could close most of the airspace in Europe, inconveniencing millions of travellers. An initial shutdown of air travel occurred over much of northerly Europe from 15 April to 23 April. Other parts of European airspace were closed during the ensuing weeks, followed by Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, northern Italy, Austria and southerly Germany.
Eyjafjallajokull Volcano
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which has a summit elevation of 1,666 metres and a crater 3-4 kilometers in diameter, is situated north of Skogar, about 5 kilometers from the Atlantic coastline. A magma chamber under the mountain feeds the volcano which had lain dormant since 1821, that is until the night of 14 April, 2010. Increasing seismal activity had been recorded since the end of 2009 which culminated in a small eruption, rated as 1 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) on 20 March, 2010.
On 14 April, the second phase eruption occurred and by the morning of the 15th, eye witnesses claimed they could see an ash plume rising to about 9 kilometers high which equated to a 4 on the VEI. A web camera, installed near the area, showed a plume of water vapour encircled by a blue fog caused by the emission of sulphurous gases. The large quantities of dry volcanic ash lying on the ground combined with surface winds to create an ash mist that reduced visibility to within a metre.
Health Effects of Lava and Ash
The volcanic ash collected near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano showed a silica concentration of 58%. Inhalation of fine silica dust may lead to silicosis, bronchitis and on occasion, cancer as dust particles, which do non dissolve over time, become lodged in the Further to this, farmers were warned that the ash may become wet and compact, making farming and stock grazing almost impossible. lungs, thus reduction lung capacity. Water-soluble fluoride was also found in the ash. Fluoride may be harmful to stock that drink from contaminated streams and water sources, resulting in deadly nephritic and liverwort disorders. The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority recommended that, where possible, all stock in ash effected areas, should be kept indoors.
Aluminium, which is known as a heavy metal, is also found in lava. Its toxicity can affect bone and the central nervous system, particularly in patients with reduced renal function. It may also cause mineralization of bone as it competes for absorption with calcium. When ingested in large amounts, it may cause neurotoxicity or lead to digestive disorders, dermatitis or vomiting.
Airborne Pollutants
Aside from the disruption to travel plans, and the 500 farming families who were evacuated from their properties in Iceland, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano shows us that we are, on a daily basis, subjected to environmental toxins and poisons from the atmosphere. As you know, most of the sources of these toxins ar man made including our transport, factories, power plants, household products, tobacco smoke, aerosols and carbon monoxide to name just a few. The ingestion of airborne pollutants is unavoidable, however, there is something we can do to protect ourselves from their harmful effects and related respiratory illnesses.
By taking just a few drops of Activated Liquid Zeolite each day, research has proven that you will be removing heavy metals, toxins, pesticides and herbicides from your body, allowing it to do its natural healing.
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