Will masks help with vog

From the very start of the eruptions, the media has warned the public that masks would not work for SO2 gas. THIS report from CNN is typical. The gist of the article is, "the Hawaii Department of Health says no commercial mask sold in stores would actually do residents any good".

This is obviously not completely true since we see emergency workers using face masks with filter cartridges. These masks can be bought on Amazon for about $30. So certainly some commercially available masks will work.

What they meant by "store masks" was probably simple dust masks or surgical masks. These types of mask will not work on SO2 or PM2.5 sulfates. But what about high quality dust masks designed for heavy urban pollution? These types of masks do not work on gas, but do filter the PM2.5 particles which are the primary component of the kind of vog in Kona.

The Hawaii DOH advisory was intended for residents near the eruptions where gaseous SO2 is still present. For areas, like Kona, far away from the eruption, the vog was not considered bad enough to consider a mask. However, the advisory did not include people with breathing problems that might have trouble with the moderate level of vog found in Kona during the eruptions. Pollution masks that can filter PM2.5 should help.

Good pollution masks are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, as N95 or N99. Several brands of NIOSH certified masks are sold on Amazon. N95 masks filter 95% of particles larger that 0.3 um, while N99 filters 99%. PM2.5 are particles smaller than 2.5 um, so there may still be some particles smaller than 0.3 um. These masks may not be completely effective in very high levels of PM2.5. We do not expect dangerously high levels of PM2.5 in Kona.

"Kona" refers the city of Kailua Kona or the region nearby, which could include Waikoloa if the term is used broadly. The Kona air quality monitor is in Kealakekua, which is nine mile south of Kailua Kona. Our condo in Waikoloa is 27 miles north of Kealakekua, so the air there should be better that the Kona AQI readings.