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RE: Hawaiian volcanoes - Part 10: Volcanic Air Pollution
A few years ago I was on Teide, the volcano that formed the Tenerife Islands.
It stands at 3700m and the only option is to climb by foot. Along the way there are many active gas vents and you are already very tired due to the fact that the rest of the island is at sea level. When taking a break climbing with no prior acclimatization and you gasp the sulfurous air in one of the vents it feels like the end for you.
I can't even think about how the Vog in Hawaii is feeling, because the expulsions are hundreds of times greater there than at Teide.
On the webpage of the University of Hawai'i at Hilo (http://hilo.hawaii.edu/~nat_haz/) are wonderful articles how people cope with vog on the Big Island. It includes using gas masks and variations of DIY airfilters. Definitely worth a read.
They also include incredible images form the damage caused by vog and acid rain that I am not allowed to show due to copyright.
I will check it out. It's sad that they have to put up with that but I guess it's part of their culture by now.