Last night during my night shift I was watching videos on volcanoes and on the history of Indonesia. One of the things that came up was a danger that the sulfur workers face in the Indonesian volcanoes. There is a gas in the volcano crater that smells like a rotten eggs.
From my years working as a security guard in a petrol chemical plan this rang a bell. One of the dangers in a petrol chemical plant is Hydrogen Sulfide gas, H2S. In all of our plant work safety orientations there are warnings about the gas. H2S needs to be taken very seriously. If I go to photograph in the volcanoes, I will need to be wearing proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), probably at least a gas mask and sealed eye goggles.
Hydrogen Sulfide gas is naturally occurring inside an active volcano. The gas is heavier than air and settles in low lying areas. If you inhale enough of the gas you can die from it. To make photos in the volcanoes or to work there, you should be wearing proper safety gear.
I do not know the workers manage to work there without PPE. I have read they work 12-hour days for $12 a day. I need to learn more. I wonder if I can buy eye and breathing protection equipment for them there, then distribute the items as I make photos? We earned $6000 from the last exhibition, $6000 in donation money, 100% earned will be donated. Giving back to these workers seems the proper thing to do. Then maybe the photos made after that, in the volcano, can raise more money to help more people.
Getting ahead of myself here, not sure I can gain access and that this photo project idea will work. Still, it is worth more thought. If I go, I need to educate myself about the dangers, learn the Indonesian language (basic level) and improve my overall physical conditioning. Climbing in and out of volcanoes at 59 years of age might prove a tad difficult! :)
Here is the fact sheet for H2S, Hydrogen Sulfide.
Note* The workers have given sulfur dug out of the Mt Ijen volcano in Indonesia a nickname, "SATAN'S GOLD" (Setan Emas).
 |
| H2S facts sheet |
