The University of Hawaii is conducting a study to see how breathing volcanic emissions is affecting the lungs of Big Island residents. UH leads study
of Big Islanders
who inhale vogStar-Bulletin staff
The five-year study recently received a $305,042 award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and will be funded with more than $1.5 million by the end of the duration.
It is the first comprehensive program that measures air quality and chronic lung health at the same time. Previous studies have considered acute health symptoms or measured the frequency of emergency room visits.
The Lung Assessment during Volcanic Activity study is being led by pulmonologist Elizabeth Tam of the UH-Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine. She is the principal investigator in a collaboration of agencies that include the U.S. Geological Survey, National Weather Service, UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Harvard, the University of Southern California and the state Department of Health.
The goals of the project are:
>> To teach residents research skills for gathering data, enabling them to participate in their health and safety.Tam said researchers have had difficulty studying the long-term effects of vog because of the widely dispersed, rural population of the Big Island.>> To assess the community's exposure to vog over the last 10 years, based on historical records of weather patterns and volcanic emissions.
>> To measure current acidity and amount of particles small enough to breathe, starting this year.
>> To do cross-sectional studies of the respiratory systems and lung functions of children who have lived their entire lives with vog.
>> To do longitudinal studies on the lung growth and health of these children.
She commended residents for pushing for the program and their willingness to participate.
"(They) really wanted to know about vog, and they've been really great about working with us to study the problem," Tam said.
UH John A. Burns School of Medicine
