Mount St. Helens now a lab for researchers

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. – Perched at 5,400 feet, seven miles from a sputtering volcano, Michael Abbott feared only one thing: snow.

“I was more worried that we would get caught in a snowstorm than Mount St. Helens erupting,” he said.

However, Mother Nature and Mount St. Helens cooperated enough over a six-day span this autumn for Abbott to conduct valuable research on mercury emissions given off by the volcano.

By studying mercury emissions from natural sources like volcanoes, Abbott hopes to apply his understanding of mercury to efforts in developing controls on human-made emitters like coal-fired power plants, such as the one being discussed east of Glenns Ferry near the Twin Falls County line.

“We’re trying to understand what are the contributors to the atmosphere,” Abbott said.

Abbott, who works as an environmental scientist at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory near Arco, previously studied mercury emissions at Yellowstone National Park.

Some of the sites in Yellowstone posted extremely high emissions while others tested fairly low, Abbott said.

“Yellowstone had never been monitored for mercury emissions,” he said.

Although Abbott would like to return to Yellowstone to take more thorough measurements, he has long been interested in studying volcano emissions.

“There’s volcanoes going off all the time all over the world,” Abbott said.

“We also know that you’re getting mercury during pre-eruption stages.”

This pre-eruption stage may last a long time before an acute event – an eruption – occurs, he said.

When volcanic activity increased at Mount St. Helens, Abbott seized the opportunity to study a volcano’s emissions.

Abbott was positioned downwind from Mount St. Helens in order to pick up emissions there. The plume begins at 8,400 feet, Abbott said.

“You can see that plume,” he said. “You can see it going off for 20 to 30 miles.”

However, Abbott said, more research is needed. Abbott intends to take emission samples at Mount St. Helens from the air. In addition to measuring mercury while the volcano was “sitting there simmering,” Abbott also began looking for a way to test for mercury if – and when – Mount St. Helens fully erupts.

Although Abbott does not have a plan fully in place, his experience gave him opportunity to become comfortable with working in less than ideal conditions.

“We learned how to deploy this equipment, which is normally run in a protected space,” he said.

Elemental mercury disperses like a gas, Abbott said. It can stay in the atmosphere for a year or more before it finally rests on the land or in water.

According to an Environmental Protection Agency report, microorganisms convert mercury into a highly toxic form. Humans are exposed to mercury by consuming fish contaminated with it.

Mercury poses a special risk to developing fetuses and can cause learning disabilities in children born to women who consumed large amounts of contaminated seafood while pregnant. Recent studies also suggest this toxic form of mercury increases the likelihood of high blood pressure and heart attacks in adults, according to the EPA’s findings.

“It’s an important issue for the nation,” Abbott said.

“There’s more at issue here than just human health,” Abbott said. “One of the drivers here is helping the United States to be more energy independent.”

Research like Abbott’s helps determine ways to make power plants cleaner. Currently, the United States depends heavily on coal-fired plants as an energy source.

“We need to figure out a way to burn that cleanly,” Abbott said.

“It’s as much about your power bill as it is about mercury emissions.”