Unique Visitors
Next to a sulfuric acid lake (pH measured at 0.5!) in the caldera are a number of vents emitting volcanic gasses like sulfur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). These gasses are channeled through ceramic pipes which results in the condensation of liquid sulfur as the gas cools. Deep red molten sulfur pours out of the pipes, cools to the yellow mineral and is then carried out of the area by miners in baskets. The miners work without protective equipment, obviously suffer respiratory problems, and have to hike up and down out of the volcanoes caldera twice a day. Typical miners earn the equivalent of $13 U.S. per day.
Check out the images by Grunewald - they're incredible and look like they were taken on Jupiter's moon Io!
I feel like the miners should be paid much more for bringing in that sulfur everyday. What intrigues me the most is the manufacturing of Sulfuric acid by contact. I've been learning as much as I can about the element. I saw a place that has slogans for sulfur, I can share the post here: Sulfur Slogans
ReplyDelete