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Health‐Damaging Climate Events Highlight the Need for Interdisciplinary, Engaged Research (2024)
Journal Article
Stowell, J. D., Anenberg, S., Zaitchik, B. F., Tong, D. Q., Horwell, C. J., Stolle, D. P., …McEntee, C. (2024). Health‐Damaging Climate Events Highlight the Need for Interdisciplinary, Engaged Research. Geohealth, 8(2), Article e2024GH001022. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gh001022

In 2023 human populations experienced multiple record‐breaking climate events, with widespread impacts on human health and well‐being. These events include extreme heat domes, drought, severe storms, flooding, and wildfires. Due to inherent lags in t... Read More about Health‐Damaging Climate Events Highlight the Need for Interdisciplinary, Engaged Research.

Physicochemical hazard assessment of ash and dome rock from the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, for the assessment of respiratory health impacts and water contamination (2023)
Journal Article
Horwell, C. J., Damby, D. E., Stewart, C., Joseph, E. P., Barclay, J., Davies, B. V., …Tunstall, N. (2024). Physicochemical hazard assessment of ash and dome rock from the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, for the assessment of respiratory health impacts and water contamination. Geological Society Special Publications, 539(1), https://doi.org/10.1144/sp539-2023-46

La Soufrière, St Vincent, began an extrusive eruption on 27 December 2020. The lava dome was destroyed, along with much of the pre-existing 1979 dome, in explosive eruptions from 9 to 22 April 2021. Lava domes generate crystalline silica – inhalation... Read More about Physicochemical hazard assessment of ash and dome rock from the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, for the assessment of respiratory health impacts and water contamination.

The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN): reflections on 20 years of progress (2023)
Journal Article
Horwell, C. J., Baxter, P. J., Damby, D. E., Elias, T., Ilyinskaya, E., Sparks, R. S. J., …Tomašek, I. (2023). The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN): reflections on 20 years of progress. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11, Article 1213363. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1213363

The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN; www.ivhhn.org) is an interdisciplinary organization which coordinates research and provides advice on volcanic health hazards and impacts.

The field of research on the human health hazards a... Read More about The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN): reflections on 20 years of progress.

The post-2016 long-lasting Vulcanian activity of Sabancaya volcano (Peru) and associated aeolian remobilisation of volcanic ash (2023)
Journal Article
Fries, A., Dominguez, L., Jarvis, P. A., Pistolesi, M., Manrique, N., Aguilar, R., …Bonadonna, C. (2023). The post-2016 long-lasting Vulcanian activity of Sabancaya volcano (Peru) and associated aeolian remobilisation of volcanic ash. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 441, Article 107876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2023.107876

Perceptions of volcanic air pollution and exposure reduction practices on the Island of Hawai‘i: Working towards socially relevant risk communication (2023)
Journal Article
Horwell, C., Elias, T., Covey, J., Bhandari, R., & Truby, J. (2023). Perceptions of volcanic air pollution and exposure reduction practices on the Island of Hawai‘i: Working towards socially relevant risk communication. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 95, Article 103853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103853

Kīlauea volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Over the past four decades it has released large amounts of volcanic gases and aerosols which form volcanic air pollution known as ‘vog’. Communities downwin... Read More about Perceptions of volcanic air pollution and exposure reduction practices on the Island of Hawai‘i: Working towards socially relevant risk communication.

Volcanic air pollution and human health: recent advances and future directions (2021)
Journal Article
Stewart, C., Damby, D., Horwell, C., Elias, T., Ilyinskaya, E., Tomašek, I., Longo, B., Schmidt, A., Carlsen, H., Mason, E., Baxter, P., Cronin, S., & Witham, C. (2022). Volcanic air pollution and human health: recent advances and future directions. Bulletin of Volcanology, 84(1), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01513-9

Volcanic air pollution from both explosive and effusive activity can affect large populations as far as thousands of kilometers away from the source, for days to decades or even centuries. Here, we summarize key advances and prospects in the assessme... Read More about Volcanic air pollution and human health: recent advances and future directions.

Carers' perceptions of harm and the protective measures taken to safeguard children's health against inhalation of volcanic ash: A comparative study across Indonesia, Japan and Mexico (2021)
Journal Article
Covey, J., Dominelli, L., Horwell, C., Rachmawati, L., Martin-del Pozzo, A., Armienta, M., Nugroho, F., & Ogawa, R. (2021). Carers' perceptions of harm and the protective measures taken to safeguard children's health against inhalation of volcanic ash: A comparative study across Indonesia, Japan and Mexico. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 59, Article 102194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102194

Volcanic ash contains potentially toxic elements which could affect human health. There is a paucity of research focusing on the impact of airborne volcanic emissions on the health of children, and on their exposure reduction. Children's carers (pare... Read More about Carers' perceptions of harm and the protective measures taken to safeguard children's health against inhalation of volcanic ash: A comparative study across Indonesia, Japan and Mexico.

Assessing the biological reactivity of organic compounds on volcanic ash: implications for human health hazard (2021)
Journal Article
Tomašek, I., Damby, D., Andronico, D., Baxter, P., Boonen, I., Claeys, P., Denison, M., Horwell, C., Kervyn, M., Kueppers, U., Romanias, M., & Elskens, M. (2021). Assessing the biological reactivity of organic compounds on volcanic ash: implications for human health hazard. Bulletin of Volcanology, 83(5), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01453-4

Exposure to volcanic ash is a long-standing health concern for people living near active volcanoes and in distal urban areas. During transport and deposition, ash is subjected to various physicochemical processes that may change its surface compositi... Read More about Assessing the biological reactivity of organic compounds on volcanic ash: implications for human health hazard.

Development of a simulated lung fluid leaching method to assess the release of potentially toxic elements from volcanic ash (2021)
Journal Article
Tomašek, I., Damby, D., Stewart, C., Horwell, C., Plumlee, G., Ottley, C., Delmelle, P., Morman, S., Yazidi, S., Claeys, P., Kervyn, M., Elskens, M., & Leermakers, M. (2021). Development of a simulated lung fluid leaching method to assess the release of potentially toxic elements from volcanic ash. Chemosphere, 278, Article 130303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130303

Freshly erupted volcanic ash contains a range of soluble elements, some of which can generate harmful effects in living cells and are considered potentially toxic elements (PTEs). This work investigates the leaching dynamics of ash-associated PTEs in... Read More about Development of a simulated lung fluid leaching method to assess the release of potentially toxic elements from volcanic ash.

Merapi multiple: Protection around Yogyakarta’s celebrity volcano through masks, dreams, and seismographs (2020)
Journal Article
Schwartz-Marin, E., Merli, C., Rachmawati, L., Horwell, C., & Nugroho, F. (2022). Merapi multiple: Protection around Yogyakarta’s celebrity volcano through masks, dreams, and seismographs. History and Anthropology, 33(5), 588-610. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2020.1799788

Gunung Merapi (Mountain of Fire) is the guardian of a cosmogonic-sacred landscape, and one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Its eruptions are well studied, however, the relationships among ritual, science, protection and grassroots disas... Read More about Merapi multiple: Protection around Yogyakarta’s celebrity volcano through masks, dreams, and seismographs.

Health Impact Assessment of volcanic ash inhalation: A comparison with outdoor air pollution methods (2020)
Journal Article
Mueller, W., Cowie, H., Horwell, C., Hurley, F., & Baxter, P. (2020). Health Impact Assessment of volcanic ash inhalation: A comparison with outdoor air pollution methods. Geohealth, 4(7), Article e2020GH000256. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gh000256

This paper critically appraises the extrapolation of concentration‐response functions (CRFs) for fine and coarse particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10 respectively, used in outdoor air pollution Health Impact Assessment (HIA) studies to assess the exten... Read More about Health Impact Assessment of volcanic ash inhalation: A comparison with outdoor air pollution methods.

Assessment of the Wearability of Facemasks against Air Pollution in Primary School-Aged Children in London (2020)
Journal Article
Smart, N., Horwell, C., Smart, T., & Galea, K. (2020). Assessment of the Wearability of Facemasks against Air Pollution in Primary School-Aged Children in London. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), Article 3935. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113935

Air pollution is a major health problem and children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects. Facemasks are one form of protection but, to be effective, they need to filter out airborne pollutants, fit the face well and be wearable. In thi... Read More about Assessment of the Wearability of Facemasks against Air Pollution in Primary School-Aged Children in London.

Air Pollution Disasters: Liability Issues in Negligence Associated With the Provision of Personal Protective Interventions (Facemasks) (2020)
Journal Article
McDonald, F., & Horwell, C. (2021). Air Pollution Disasters: Liability Issues in Negligence Associated With the Provision of Personal Protective Interventions (Facemasks). Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 15(3), 367-373. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.37

Disasters may impact air quality through the generation of high levels of potentially pathogenic particulate matter (PM), for example, in a volcanic eruption. Depending on the concentrations of particles in the air, their size and composition, and th... Read More about Air Pollution Disasters: Liability Issues in Negligence Associated With the Provision of Personal Protective Interventions (Facemasks).

Community perceptions of protective practices to prevent ash exposures around Sakurajima volcano, Japan (2020)
Journal Article
Covey, J., Horwell, C., Ogawa, R., Baba, T., Nishimura, S., Hagino, M., & Merli, C. (2020). Community perceptions of protective practices to prevent ash exposures around Sakurajima volcano, Japan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 46, Article 101525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101525

Whilst, globally, volcanic eruptions are unusual and cause anxiety in affected communities, people living near Sakurajima volcano, Japan are exposed to frequent ashfall with little-to-no official intervention. As part of a wider project, this study a... Read More about Community perceptions of protective practices to prevent ash exposures around Sakurajima volcano, Japan.

Assessment of leachable elements in volcanic ashfall: A review and evaluation of a standardized protocol for ash hazard characterization (2019)
Journal Article
Stewart, C., Damby, D., Tomašek, I., Horwell, C., Plumlee, G., Armienta, M., Hinojosa, M., Appleby, M., Delmelle, P., Cronin, S., Ottley, C., Oppenheimer, C., & Morman, S. (2020). Assessment of leachable elements in volcanic ashfall: A review and evaluation of a standardized protocol for ash hazard characterization. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 392, Article 106756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.106756

Volcanic ash presents a widespread and common hazard during and after eruptions. Complex interactions between solid ash surfaces and volcanic gases lead to the formation of soluble salts that may be mobilized in aqueous environments. A variety of sta... Read More about Assessment of leachable elements in volcanic ashfall: A review and evaluation of a standardized protocol for ash hazard characterization.

Facemask use for community protection from air pollution disasters: An ethical overview and framework to guide agency decision making (2019)
Journal Article
McDonald, F., Horwell, C., Wecker, R., Dominelli, L., Loh, M., Kamanyire, R., & Ugarte, C. (2020). Facemask use for community protection from air pollution disasters: An ethical overview and framework to guide agency decision making. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 43, Article 101376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101376

Disasters involving severe air pollution episodes create a pressing public health issue. During such emergencies, there may be pressure on agencies to provide solutions to protect affected communities. One possible intervention to reduce exposure dur... Read More about Facemask use for community protection from air pollution disasters: An ethical overview and framework to guide agency decision making.

Assessment of the potential for in-plume sulphur dioxide gas-ash interactions to influence the respiratory toxicity of volcanic ash (2019)
Journal Article
Tomašek, I., Damby, D., Horwell, C., Ayris, P., Delmelle, P., Ottley, C., Cubillas, P., Casas, A., Bisig, C., Petri-Fink, A., Dingwell, D., Clift, M., Drasler, B., & Rothen-Rutishauser, B. (2019). Assessment of the potential for in-plume sulphur dioxide gas-ash interactions to influence the respiratory toxicity of volcanic ash. Environmental Research, 179(Part A), Article 108798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.108798

Background: Volcanic plumes are complex environments composed of gases and ash particles, where chemical and physical processes occur at different temperature and compositional regimes. Commonly, soluble sulphate- and chloride-bearing salts are forme... Read More about Assessment of the potential for in-plume sulphur dioxide gas-ash interactions to influence the respiratory toxicity of volcanic ash.

The puzzling issue of silica toxicity: are silanols bridging the gaps between surface states and pathogenicity? (2019)
Journal Article
Pavan, C., Delle Piane, M., Gullo, M., Filippi, F., Fubini, B., Hoet, P., Horwell, C., Huaux, F., Lison, D., Lo Giudice, C., Martra, G., Montfort, E., Schins, R., Sulpizi, M., Wegner, K., Wyart-Remy, M., Ziemann, C., & Turci, F. (2019). The puzzling issue of silica toxicity: are silanols bridging the gaps between surface states and pathogenicity?. Particle and Fibre Toxicology, 16(1), Article 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12989-019-0315-3

Background: Silica continues to represent an intriguing topic of fundamental and applied research across various scientific fields, from geology to physics, chemistry, cell biology, and particle toxicology. The pathogenic activity of silica is variab... Read More about The puzzling issue of silica toxicity: are silanols bridging the gaps between surface states and pathogenicity?.

Factors motivating the use of respiratory protection against volcanic ashfall : a comparative analysis of communities in Japan, Indonesia and Mexico (2019)
Journal Article
Covey, J., Horwell, C., Rachmawati, L., Ogawa, R., Martin-del Pozzo, A., Armienta, M., Nugroho, F., & Dominelli, L. (2019). Factors motivating the use of respiratory protection against volcanic ashfall : a comparative analysis of communities in Japan, Indonesia and Mexico. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 35, Article 101066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101066

Communities living near active volcanoes may be exposed to respiratory hazards from volcanic ash. Understanding their perception of the risks and the actions they take to mitigate against those risks is important for developing effective communicatio... Read More about Factors motivating the use of respiratory protection against volcanic ashfall : a comparative analysis of communities in Japan, Indonesia and Mexico.