In the eastern part of the island of Java, Indonesia, is the volcano Kauah Ijen, which has become something of a tourist hot spot in recent years. That’s because at night, otherworldly blue lights appear on its dark slopes. These ghostly pale fires are due to the large amounts of sulfur deposits on the surface of the volcano. When the high temperatures from inside the volcano heat these sulfur deposits, they burn in a blue flame.
But as impressive and mysterious as these manifestations are, they hide the darker nature of this volcano, connected to the people who extract its resources. These miners work in dangerous and precarious conditions to get their hands on the sulphur, or what they call “devil’s gold”. Sulfur is an important natural resource and humans have been fascinated by it for centuries.
Today, it is used in a number of products and industries around the world. We use it, for example, in matches and batteries, but various sulfur compounds are also an integral part of the manufacturing chemicals in fertilizers and medicines. It is also a major ingredient in rubber products, fireworks, gunpowder, etc. And it’s also a big industry. Compared to other jobs available on the island, sulfur mining pays quite well, making it attractive to workers.
However, it is also a very dangerous job; not only is it physical labor and often requires tremendous effort to extract, but it is also extremely toxic to workers, IFL Science writes. Sulfuric gas is extracted from the interior of the volcano through metal pipes that separate it from the interior. Once on the surface, the gas condenses and, as it cools, solidifies into yellow plaques, which are then broken by hand and placed in wicker baskets. These baskets are then placed on either side of a pole and carried back up the face of the crater on the shoulders of the miners.
Anyone who has worked hard labor knows that carrying heavy loads like this over and over again can have serious health consequences, but in this case miners usually carry loads that are heavier than their own weight (about 68 -90 kilograms). Therefore, the grueling and precarious journey back to the crater brings painful consequences and an average life expectancy for most workers that rarely exceeds 50 years, as well as spinal injuries and disfigured backs.
Adding to the challenges of carrying these yellow stones is the fact that the air at the base of the crater is also full of toxic sulfur dioxide fumes. In most cases, miners work without proper protection, so they inhale this gas, which burns their lungs and makes their eyes constantly water. In high enough concentrations, sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems and even acute pulmonary edema. Java’s mining communities are among the last on the planet.
In most cases, sulfur is extracted from oil, natural gas, and other fossil resources (where it occurs in the form of hydrogen sulfide). The sulfur industry is valued at around $13 billion and is expected to grow in the coming years. The mined sulfur is not as pure as that refined by the above processes, so it also does not fetch as high a price. But despite these problems, the Java industry remains an important but treacherous option for those unable to find work elsewhere.
#Great #Mystery #Devils #Gold
