Fluoride Deaths in Whakaari = White Island New Zealand

Hydrogen Fluoride Gas is a Lethal hazard from volcanic emissions. Whakaari erupted again this month after killing 22 people in 2019. Students were "volunteered" to breathe in the toxic gases in 2005.

New Zealand and other countries would prefer you not to know that Fluoride, in the form of the neutral gas molecule HF, is the major killer in volcanic gases.

On 22 August 2024 Whakaari = White Island in New Zealand erupted and is expected to spew toxic gases including HF for weeks to months with drift to the mainland.¹

In 2019 my attempts to raise this issue did not attract much attention.²

Whakaari White Island Medical Reports

In 2004, Australian scientist Phil Weinstein published a summary of Fluoride inhalation and skin contact toxicity.³

Students deliberately exposed to HF

Phil Weinstein and colleagues deliberately exposed "volunteer" students from the Universities of Canterbury, Waikato, and Auckland to volcanic emissions on Whakaari during a quiet period and measured Fluoride and other inhaled elements in their urine, blood, and serum.⁴

Average personal exposure was measured at <75 ppm SO2 and calculated at ~25ppm HCl, ~8 ppm hydrogen fluoride (HF), ~1 ppm Al, ~0.1 ppb Rb and ~4 ppb Pb. These concentrations almost certainly exceed those usually found in occupational exposure settings.

Would you describe this as ethical research?

Recently I found a report from New Zealand medicos that gave a limited discussion of the influence of Hydrogen Fluoride in the severe and fatal burns suffered by the volcano victims.⁵ The started their article with this Disclaimer:

At the time of writing this article there is an active coronial inquest into the events on Whakaari following the eruption on 9 December 2019. For this reason, some details are not available or fully elucidated.

The emphasize the unusual burns:

Upon arrival to specialist burn centres it quickly became clear that there was burn wound evolution and physiological impairment out of proportion to the surface area burned.

The thermal component of the burn was enhanced significantly by the presence of strong acids within the ash; predominantly H2SO4, HCl, and HF. This resulted in rapid burn extension, severe metabolic derangement and later, inhalational involvement.

Confirmation of Fluoride in victims:

Early ionic analysis of ash samples taken from four patients confirmed this with significant presence of sulphate, chloride, fluoride and bromide anions

HF as the active agent:

HF is very lipophilic in nature allowing free fluoride ions to penetrate deeply into tissues and cause liquefactive necrosis.

Very little HF needed to kill:

The metabolic consequences of fluoride toxicity from HF are significant, with deaths reported from as little as 2 per cent Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burns with concentrated solution.

Severe Pain

Depletion of cellular calcium causes inhibition of the sodium-potassium ATPase pump resulting in increased cellular permeability. Resultant localised hyperkalaemia along with other electrolyte shifts at nerve endings is thought to be the mechanism by which intense pain is experienced by those with HF burns.

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/22/new-zealands-white-island-volcano-erupts-flights-grounded

2. https://x.com/FluoridePoison/status/1204187930526285825

3. Weinstein P, Cook A. Volcanic emissions and health. In: Komatina MM, ed. Medical geology: effects of geological environments on human health. Developments in Earth and Environmental Sciences Series. Elsevier Science 2004A comprehensive review with a toxicological focus.

4. Michael Durand, Chris Florkowski, Peter George, Trevor Walmsley, Phil Weinstein. Effect of volcanic gas exposure on urine, blood, and serum chemistry. 2005. THE NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL JOURNAL Vol 118 No 1210.

5. John Burnett, Matthew Taylor. Whakaari/White Island eruption – an overview of volcanic trauma and its management. In: Australasian Anaesthesia 2021. Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Editor Richard Riley.