According to news articles, sulfur gas poisoning from one of Salak's fume-filled craters was suspected in the deaths of six teenagers on 7 July. Several more poisoned students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The students were part of a group camping on the volcano for the weekend.
Sources: Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Reuters
Six gas-related fatalities during July 2007
Salak is a stratovolcano near the W end of Java (figure 1). Historical records indicate the last eruption occurred in 1938, and the volcano remains in repose; this report discusses gas-related fatalities. The last section of this report reviews gas exposure limits, gas-mask filters, and monitoring devices to enhance understanding of two sulfurous volcanic gases (SO2 and H2S).
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Figure 1. Satellite imagery from Google Earth showing Salak (center, ~60 km SSW of Jakarta) and other volcanoes of western Java. Courtesy of Google Earth. |
According to news articles, sulfur-gas poisoning from one of Salak's fume-filled craters was suspected in the deaths of six teenagers on 7 July 2007. The victims, who were between the ages of 14 and 16, were part of a group of about 50 students camping on the volcano for the weekend. The bodies were found with blood and foam on their mouths and noses. According to a Reuters report of 9 July 2007, police officer Thomas Alexander reported that "one of the students was found dead with foam on his mouth, a strong indicator of sulfur poisoning." Several more poisoned students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Deadly gases. A data sheet on SO2, a common and potentially hazardous sulfurous gas found at volcanoes appears on the Center for Disease Control website (NIOSH, 2007). The gas's density is 2.26 times heavier than air of the same temperature. (In other words, when near the ambient air temperature, SO2 gas will generally tend to descend into low-lying places such as closed craters, lava tubes, etc.) The NIOSH recommended exposure limit for a 40 hour work-week composed of up to10-hour days is 2 ppm. Their stated recommended exposure limit for short-term (15-minute) exposure is 13 ppm.
These guidelines apply only to healthy adults, and exclude the effects of multiple gases, strong physical exertion, etc. Another hazardous sulfurous gas emitted by volcanoes is H2S. It has a density of 1.2 times that of air and a recommended exposure limit that is a more stringent (NIOSH ceiling) value that should not be exceeded: 10 ppm for 10 minutes. But, this gas is thought to quickly react to form SO2 in many circumstances. The NIOSH website also discusses appropriate filters for gas masks. Small, portable, digital monitors now exist for many gases; some will operate as remote sensors with dedicated telemetry.
Reference. NIOSH, 2007, NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, Sulfur dioxide: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (URL: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0575.html).
Information Contacts: Reuters (URL: http://www.reuters.com/); Asia-Pacific News (URL: http://www.asiapacificnews.com/); Associated Press (URL: http://www.ap.org/); Deutsche-Presse Agentur (URL: http://www.dpa.de/).
2007: July
According to news articles, sulfur gas poisoning from one of Salak's fume-filled craters was suspected in the deaths of six teenagers on 7 July. Several more poisoned students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The students were part of a group camping on the volcano for the weekend.
Sources: Deutsche Presse-Agentur; Reuters
Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.
Six gas-related fatalities during July 2007
Salak is a stratovolcano near the W end of Java (figure 1). Historical records indicate the last eruption occurred in 1938, and the volcano remains in repose; this report discusses gas-related fatalities. The last section of this report reviews gas exposure limits, gas-mask filters, and monitoring devices to enhance understanding of two sulfurous volcanic gases (SO2 and H2S).
![]() |
Figure 1. Satellite imagery from Google Earth showing Salak (center, ~60 km SSW of Jakarta) and other volcanoes of western Java. Courtesy of Google Earth. |
According to news articles, sulfur-gas poisoning from one of Salak's fume-filled craters was suspected in the deaths of six teenagers on 7 July 2007. The victims, who were between the ages of 14 and 16, were part of a group of about 50 students camping on the volcano for the weekend. The bodies were found with blood and foam on their mouths and noses. According to a Reuters report of 9 July 2007, police officer Thomas Alexander reported that "one of the students was found dead with foam on his mouth, a strong indicator of sulfur poisoning." Several more poisoned students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Deadly gases. A data sheet on SO2, a common and potentially hazardous sulfurous gas found at volcanoes appears on the Center for Disease Control website (NIOSH, 2007). The gas's density is 2.26 times heavier than air of the same temperature. (In other words, when near the ambient air temperature, SO2 gas will generally tend to descend into low-lying places such as closed craters, lava tubes, etc.) The NIOSH recommended exposure limit for a 40 hour work-week composed of up to10-hour days is 2 ppm. Their stated recommended exposure limit for short-term (15-minute) exposure is 13 ppm.
These guidelines apply only to healthy adults, and exclude the effects of multiple gases, strong physical exertion, etc. Another hazardous sulfurous gas emitted by volcanoes is H2S. It has a density of 1.2 times that of air and a recommended exposure limit that is a more stringent (NIOSH ceiling) value that should not be exceeded: 10 ppm for 10 minutes. But, this gas is thought to quickly react to form SO2 in many circumstances. The NIOSH website also discusses appropriate filters for gas masks. Small, portable, digital monitors now exist for many gases; some will operate as remote sensors with dedicated telemetry.
Reference. NIOSH, 2007, NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, Sulfur dioxide: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (URL: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0575.html).
Information Contacts: Reuters (URL: http://www.reuters.com/); Asia-Pacific News (URL: http://www.asiapacificnews.com/); Associated Press (URL: http://www.ap.org/); Deutsche-Presse Agentur (URL: http://www.dpa.de/).
This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.
Synonyms |
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Satak | ||||
Craters |
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Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
Cangkuang
Tjiangkuang |
Crater | |||
Thermal |
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Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
Cibodas, Kawah
Tjibodas, Kawah |
Thermal | |||
Cigamea, Kawah
Tjigamea, Kawah |
Thermal | |||
Cihideung, Cipanas
Tjihideung, Tjipanas |
Thermal | |||
Cikaluwung Putri, Kawah
Tjikaluwung Putri, Kawah |
Thermal | |||
Cipanas, Kawah
Tjipanas, Kawah |
Thermal | |||
Cisalada, Cipanas
Tjisalada, Tjipanas |
Thermal | |||
Cisalada, Kawah
Tjisalada, Kawah |
Thermal | |||
Hirup, Kawah | Thermal | |||
Idup, Kawah | Thermal | |||
Paeh, Kawah | Thermal | |||
Ratu, Kawah | Thermal | |||
Susah, Kawah | Thermal |
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There is data available for 6 Holocene eruptive periods.
Start Date | Stop Date | Eruption Certainty | VEI | Evidence | Activity Area or Unit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1938 Jan 31 ± 5 days | Unknown | Confirmed | 2 | Historical Observations | Kawah Cikaluwung Putri |
1935 Feb | Unknown | Confirmed | 2 | Historical Observations | Kawah Cikaluwung Putri |
1919 | Unknown | Confirmed | 2 | Historical Observations | Kawah Ratu |
1902 | 1903 | Confirmed | 2 | Historical Observations | Kawah Ratu |
1780 | Unknown | Confirmed | 2 | Historical Observations | Kawah Ratu |
[ 1699 Jan 5 ] | [ Unknown ] | Uncertain | Salak 3 |
There is no Deformation History data available for Salak.
There is no Emissions History data available for Salak.
The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.
The following 1 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.
Catalog Number | Sample Description | Lava Source | Collection Date |
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NMNH 86577 | Rhyolite | -- | -- |
MIROVA | Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity. |
MODVOLC Thermal Alerts | Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales. |
Sentinel Hub Playground
Sentinel Hub EO Browser |
The Sentinel Hub Playground provides a quick look at any Sentinel-2 image in any combination of the bands and enhanced with image effects; Landsat 8, DEM and MODIS are also available. Sentinel Hub is an engine for processing of petabytes of satellite data. It is opening the doors for machine learning and helping hundreds of application developers worldwide. It makes Sentinel, Landsat, and other Earth observation imagery easily accessible for browsing, visualization and analysis. Sentinel Hub is operated by Sinergise |
IRIS seismic stations/networks | Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Salak. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice. |
UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations | Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Salak. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player. |
DECADE Data | The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO2 to the atmosphere, but installing CO2 monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere. |
WOVOdat
Single Volcano View Temporal Evolution of Unrest Side by Side Volcanoes |
WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. |
Large Eruptions of Salak | Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA). |
EarthChem | EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS). |