Lava from Kilauea covers a potentially explosive geothermal power plant well and threatens another as it continues to flow
Lava covered a potentially explosive well at the Puna Geothermal Venture on Hawaii’s Big Island on Sunday
Officials say that they are closely monitoring the situation, and have detected no hydrogen sulfide released into the air
But lava has never engulfed a geothermal plant anywhere in the world and the potential threat is untested
Meanwhile, the wind was expected to change direction on Monday and Tuesday, causing higher concentrations of ash and volcanic smog that will spread west and northwest to affect more populated areas
ASHLEY COLLMAN
DAILYMAIL.COM
28 May 2018
Lava from Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano on Sunday covered a potentially explosive well at a geothermal power station and threatened another, after flowing onto the site, officials said.
The Hawaii Civil Defense Agency said the wells ‘are stable and secure,’ and Hawaii Governor David Ige said that the plant was ‘sufficiently safe’ from the lava that has plowed through backyards and streets and burned dozens of homes.
But lava has never engulfed a geothermal plant anywhere in the world and the potential threat is untested, according to the head of the state’s emergency management agency.
It’s also unclear if the release of hydrogen sulfide is the only dangerous scenario when magma infiltrates a geothermal well.
Local residents fear an explosive emission of deadly hydrogen sulfide and other gases should wells be ruptured.
The molten rock was expected to continue to flow across the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) facility, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Since Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began a once-in-a-century-scale eruption on May 3, authorities have shutdown the plant, removed 60,000 gallons of flammable liquid, and deactivated wells that tap into steam and gas deep in the Earth’s core.
Ten of the wells were cooled down with water, but the eleventh had to be filled with a clay because water wasn’t working.
PGV officials said that so fat the mud appears to be working, but as a back-up, Pacific Air Cargo flew out 200,000 pounds of a mud-like substance to Kona from Los Angeles Sunday evening.
Magma has drained from Kilauea’s summit lava lake and flowed around 25 miles east underground, bursting out of about two dozen giant cracks or fissures near the plant.
Residents have complained of health hazards from plant emissions since it went online in 1989. PGV has been the target of lawsuits challenging its location on the flank of one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
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