Hawaii VOG: why we have a VOG disclosure

How are you being affected by the VOG?
I have a 7 year old son who is having breathing problems. He keeps getting what the doctor is calling "viral pneumonia" he believes is caused by the VOG. So, I checked out the information at this link http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php
It seems we have some major activity. Though I was aware of this from the news I did not realize just how much. As I live about 40 miles south, 20 as the crow flies, this is making me a bit worried. I see the sky, the vog in the sky. I am hoping the trades are going to pick up a bit today and clear the air some. I feel this myself. I was out showing land the other day and I could feel it in my lungs. The client was not bothered by this, had no clue those were vog clouds we were looking at. Now I understand why we have a VOG disclosure form. If you are in Hawaii and have not looked into this issue there is some great reading at the link http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php
Recent Kilauea Status Reports, Updates, and Information Releases
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
Thursday, April 17, 2008 08:16 HST (Thursday, April 17, 2008 18:16 UTC)
KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW#1302-01-)
19.42°N 155.29°W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
This report, in addition to maps, photos, and webcam images (available using the menu bar above), was prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO): Activity Summary for last 24 hours: Kilauea Volcano is active at two locations. At the summit, low ash production and elevated sulfur dioxide emissions continued from the Halema`uma`u vent. Seismic tremor levels continued elevated to several times background levels. At the east rift eruption site, lava resumed nearly full flow from vents in the east rift zone through tubes into the ocean at the Waikupanaha and Ki ocean entries with some lava diverted into a few surface flows. Last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Our data suggest that molten lava may reside at shallow depth within the new vent. A white (when viewed by reflected light) plume continued to issue from the vent. Low ash production continued. Overnight, the base of the plume glowed but no incandescent particles were observed ejected from the vent. The vent glow 'winked out' for a minute or less at 2:36 am coincident with a small seismic event but did not produce any ash with distinguishable characteristics. The SO2 emission rate remains high. Winds were not adequate for a measurement yesterday; the most recent measurement was 970 tonnes/day on April 15, compared to a background rate between 150-200 tonnes/day. Seismic tremor levels remain elevated to several times background values with near regular variations in amplitude (called banded tremor). The summit tiltmeter network recorded no coherent signal. GPS receivers on opposite sides of the summit caldera recorded slow contraction. One earthquakes was located beneath the southwest rift zone. Last 24 hours in the middle east rift zone vents and flow field: Magma continued to degas at shallow levels beneath Pu`u `O`o before entering the lava tube system under the TEB vent and the rootless shield complex. No incandescence was seen in Pu`u `O`o crater. The Pu`u `O`o tiltmeter recorded no significant inflation or deflation. Seismic tremor levels remain low levels. The SO2 emission rate was about 1760 tonnes/day when last measured on April 13. Lava has resumed flowing through tubes to the ocean and supplying surface flows at two locations. Hawai`i County Civil Defense officials and HVO geologists reported at least 3 strong entries yesterday with one surface flow in Royal Gardens. Overnight in the webcam, vigorous surface flows could be seen issuing from the top and north flank of the rootless shield nearest the TEB vent. Hazard Summary: see previous updates. Definitions of terms used in the update: tephra: all material deposited by fallout from an eruption plume, regardless of size. ash: tephra less than 2 mm (5/64 inches). Previous updates sometimes used the term 'ash' loosely (without regard to particle size) where 'tephra' was more appropriate. TEB: Thanksgiving Eve Breakout, the designation used for lava flows that started with a breakout on November 21, 2007. DI tilt event: DI is an abbreviation for 'deflation-inflation' and describes a volcanic event of uncertain significance. DI events are recorded by tiltmeters at Kilauea summit as an abrupt deflation of up to a few microradians in magnitude lasting several hours to 2-3 days followed by an abrupt inflation of approximately equal magnitude. The tilt events are usually accompanied by an increase in summit tremor during the deflation phase. A careful analysis of these events suggests that they may be related to changes in magma supply to a storage reservoir at less than 1 km depth, just east of Halema`uma`u crater. Usually, though not always, these changes propagate through the magma conduit from the summit to the eruption site, as many of the DI events at Kilauea summit are also recorded at a tiltmeter at Pu`u `O`o, delayed by 1-2 hours. DI events often correlate with pulses and/or pauses in the eruption at the Pu`u `O`o/July 21/TEB vents. Maps, photos, webcam views, and other information about Kilauea Volcano are available at http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php. A daily update summary is available by phone at (808) 967-8862. A map with details of earthquakes located within the past two weeks can be found at http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/ A definition of alert levels can be found at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/2006/warnschemes.html

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Patrick Lambert
Century 21 All Islands
Naalehu, HI

Office Phone: (808) 937-1188
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