Health impact of the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on the island of La Palma (LA PALMA)

Volcanic eruptions produce a vast amount of fine particulate matter and gas, which can be transported by the wind long distances, degrading air quality over wide areas. The quality of the air we breathe is a major public health concern, as demonstrated by the 3 million deaths per year caused by fine particle pollution worldwide1. The 3 months long eruption of Tajogaite volcano between September and December 2021 caused air pollution on the Island of La Palma, located in the Canary Islands archipelago (Spain). Was the health of the local population affected by this activity? This is a critical question, given that only the area impacted by the lava flow was evacuated, while the rest of the island’s population remained, including towns less than 5 km from the volcano regularly exposed to poor air quality. The eruption directly produced airborne particulate matter and gas by generating plumes of magmatic gas and particles, and indirectly due to the lava flows vaporizing seawater when entering the sea, and burning vegetation, crops, asphalt and buildings (production of organic compounds). All these airborne species directly or indirectly caused by the volcanic activity constitute the volcanic emissions. These volcanic emissions are thus complex cocktails rich in various compounds potentially toxic for humans (e.g., heavy metals, sulfates, crystalline phases, asbestiform particles), especially in co-exposure with other organic or inorganic atmospheric pollutants of anthropogenic (e.g., urban pollution, agricultural activities) or natural (e.g., Saharan dust) origin. All these species are found in suspension in the air during the eruption but will remain in the environment for years after the eruption has stopped, due to their deposition on the ground and their resuspension by the wind and human activity (e.g., road traffic, farming, excavation). A field campaign performed in La Palma during the first two weeks of the eruption by R. Paris, J. Eychenne and I. Tomašek, demonstrated that volcanic particles less than 10 µm in size (hence, capable of penetrating deep in the lungs) can be found in suspension in the air even 30 km away from the volcano, which is unexpected in the context of a basaltic eruption. Additionally, gas monitoring data highlighted the high content in fluorine of the volcanic emissions, a species well known for causing fluorosis, a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease. For these reasons, we proposed to assess the impact of the long-lasting Tajogaite eruption on the health of the populations exposed to volcanic emissions using a holistic approach built through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Capitalizing on a unique grouping of multidisciplinary expertise on the UCA site (volcanology, geochemistry, atmospheric science, social science, biology), and in collaboration with health practitioners from the Canary Islands, we developped holistic analyses of the health impact of the volcanic eruption. Our project includes the physicochemical characterization of the volcanic emissions, assessing their bioreactivity by in-vitro and in-vivo studies, measuring health outcomes in the exposed populations using epidemiological approaches, and studying human behavior and social constraints in a volcanic context.

Coordination: Julia EYCHENNE – LMV/iGReD
UCA partners:
Severine Moune, Raphaël Paris, David JESSOP, Mathieu GOUHIER – LMV
Agnès Borbon, Aurélie Colomb – LaMP
Lucie Sauzéat, Ines Tomašek, Chloé MIGNY, Corinne BELVILLE, Vincent SAPIN, Loic BLANCHON – iGReD
Guillaume DEZECACHE, Lisa FOURGASSIE, Elena Zwirner – LAPSCO
External collaborations:
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC): Francisco José Pérez Torrado
Hospital Universitario Ntra. Sra. de Candelaria Tenerife (HUNSC): Mª del Cristo Rodríguez Pérez, Manuel FUENTES FERRER
United States Geological Survey (USGS): David Damby