The study reveals that volcanic ash from the Tajogaite volcano on La Palma could have adverse effects on human health, according to a scientific publication by ITER and INVOLCAN.
The Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER) and the Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (INVOLCAN) announce the recent publication of the results of the study on the potential impact of volcanic ash on human health.
The results of the research, led by the Dr. Beverley Coldwell, Junior Research Fellow, ITER Environment Area and scientific collaborator of INVOLCAN, in collaboration with experts from the prestigious British universities Kingston University, Queen Mary University of London and Durham University, have recently been published in the prestigious international scientific journal “Science of The Total Environment”, published by Elsevier on topics related to the environment and its relationship with humanity.
The research is part of a multinational, multidisciplinary project that seeks to understand the mechanisms behind increased rates of respiratory disease during volcanic eruptions. The study focused on the Tajogaite eruption in Cumbre Vieja, La Palma (Spain), which took place in September 2021 and lasted three months.
Previous studies have shown that volcanic ash particles may be associated with adverse effects on human health, however, the reasons for this are unclear. Therefore, the aim of this collaborative scientific work was to study the 3D structure, elemental composition and effects of particles collected from the La Palma volcanic eruption on cultured lung cells.
State-of-the-art technology, such as the LEXT OLS4100 confocal microscope from Olympus Corporation (Japan) to obtain 3D images of volcanic ash particles of PM10 size and below and the Zeiss EVO 50 scanning electron microscope (SEM) from Carl Zeiss AG (Germany) to analyze the elemental composition of the particles, was used to conduct this study. In addition, the concentration dose response of volcanic particles for pneumococcal adhesion to human A549 alveolar epithelial epithelial cells was investigated.
The results obtained indicate that Tajogaite volcanic particles increased pneumococcal adherence and PAFR expression in A549 lung cells and human nasal epithelial cells in in vitro tests. Also, volcanic particles were observed to possess angular and beaked morphological characteristics, which could affect cellular uptake. These findings suggest that, in addition to their toxic nature, the morphological characteristics of the particles could explain the adverse health effects associated with volcanic eruptions.
This scientific collaborative work has been partially made possible by funding from Barts Charity, UK (Ref: MGU0312) and The Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust (Ref: 17/LO/1752) as well as the VOLRISKMAC II (MAC2/3.5b/328) projects, co-funded by the European Commission INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC 2014-2020 program, Cumbre Vieja Emergencia, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain.
This study highlights the importance of understanding the impact of volcanic eruptions on public health and provides new perspectives for future research in the area.
