****************** Ash and firewood ****************** From: Chris Nye <cnye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> An ash advisory that was issued immediately after a small eruption of Augustine Volcano warned residents not to burn firewood in stoves or fireplaces if the wood had volcanic ash on it. The warning was picked up and repeated by the national and international press. The Alaska Volcano Observatory has had a surprising amount of email asking for the basis of the warning. No one at AVO knows the basis, nor does anyone from the agency that issued the warning. Questions for the listserv are: (1) Is there a rational basis for this warning? and (2) Where in the literature of eruption preparedness did this come from? I've checked with a local woodstove retailer, a woodstove manufacturer, and a testing lab that concerns itself with chemical and environmental issues in wood-fueled heating. They were unaware of specific issues with burning ash-covered wood. Guesses about potential issues involve re-entrainment of ash in flues, sulfur-based corrosion issues, chemical or mechanical damage to catalytic converters (not an issue in fireplaces or many woodstoves), and vaguely conceived toxicity issues involving Cl or transition metals. The surprisingly robust life of this issue makes us curious. Replies to cnye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx will be appreciated. =========================================== Christopher Nye Alaska Volcano Observatory Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys cnye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ph: (907) 474-7430 snailmail: Chris Nye, AVO/DGGS, UAF Geophysical Institute, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 ============================================================== To unsubscribe from the volcano list, send the message: signoff volcano to: listserv@xxxxxxx, or write to: volcano-request@xxxxxxxx To contribute to the volcano list, send your message to: volcano@xxxxxxxx Please do not send attachments. ==============================================================
