Catastrophic safety: chin straps surprise the world with an added advantage

Even with the Delta variant of the coronavirus circulating in more than 180 countries around the world, countries are phasing out mandatory chinstrap use outdoors, including Argentina. However, the protection that the mask implies for the respiratory tract allows other types of uses and in Spain they have found an additional advantage, before the eruption of a surprising natural disaster from which the Argentine territory is not exempt.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, located on the island of La Palma de Canarias, has been erupting for more than five days in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The wake of the destruction devastated nearly 400 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 6,000 people. This Friday, the phenomenon entered a new phase, with a greater expulsion of pyroclastic material and an intense emission of ash. Smoke and particles, by degrading air quality, have a significant impact on the well-being and health of the population.

“The volcano emits two types of pollutants. On one side are toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. But they are also dangerous ashes, especially those of microscopic size, which are composed of soot and different types of minerals from magma and can enter the respiratory tract», He told the newspaper The world pulmonologist Cristina Martínez, pulmonologist and environmental coordinator of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ).

According to this specialist, exposure to these substances can trigger coughing, tearing, itching, irritation of the throat and even respiratory distress such as bronchospasm, especially in patients. people with asthma or who have had breathing problems.

Faced with this type of situation, the chin strap reappears as a useful object to protect against the harmful effects of volcanic fumes. “The larger the filter of these masks, the better“Said the Spanish pulmonologist. Yesterday, the arrival of ash to other islands in the region was confirmed, so the scientific committee recommended the use of masks.

With the expulsion of volcanic gases, the Canary Islands authorities are closely monitoring sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ash emissions from the volcano. According to Martínez, exposure to these contaminants is not expected to cause a chronic problem, although its damage ability may be added to previous exposures to other toxins.

“This situation should make us see that air pollution is a major health problem,” said the expert.

Volcanoes in Argentina

Seismic activity is known in the regions located on the borders of the Andes. As in other latitudes, volcanic gases erupt as an inevitable phenomenon and have the capacity to reach populations that are up to thousands of kilometers beyond the focus, depending on the wind and the evolution of the rash. The volcanoes located in Chile, like the Puyehue, illustrate how these shock waves, when triggered, can affect the inhabitants of Argentina.

On the national territory, Lanín and Copahue are two of the active volcanoes that are constantly monitored., located in the province of Neuquén, on the border with Chile. Copahue remained on green alert at this time, with regular records. On August 9, surveillance cameras installed near Copahue detected an increase in surface activity. Following these changes, the local Civil Protection authorities reassured the population, after specifying that it was a regular report.

In recent years, several volcanic explosions have blanketed Patagonia with ash and smoke. One of the most memorable is the one that was triggered on June 4, 2011 in the volcanic complex of Cordón Caulle next to the Puyehue volcano located in Chile. The eruption of the massif expelled from its bowels millions of cubic meters of material that the winds deposited, for the most part, on Argentinian territory.

The explosion covered the city of Villa La Angostura, which was 39 kilometers away. The truth is that of at least 38 active volcanoes in Argentina (those who have had at least one eruption in the last 10,000 years), the Copahue, shared between the province of Neuquén and the Chilean region of Biobío, It is the most “eventful” of the moment in the country.

In 2015, many Andean towns of Río Negro and Neuquén returned at dawn covered with a layer of volcanic ash, leaving a trail of total darkness. This time it was for him Calbuco volcano, which has erupted twice in the past 24 hours and may repeat the episode shortly.

At least 38 active volcanoes in Argentina (those who have had at least one eruption in the last 10,000 years), the Copahue, shared between the province of Neuquén and the Chilean region of Biobío, It is the most “eventful” of the moment in the country. Faced with a still latent seismic activity, the experience of the pandemic will leave the mask as a resource at the disposal of the Patagons.

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