Seeing Yellow
Indonesian miners breathe toxic volcanic air—just to make bleached sugar.
Sunshine-yellow sulfur deposits can be bright—even beautiful—reminders of a volcano’s mineral exhalations. The only problem is that the air spewing from the vents is toxic, and inhaling sulfur dioxide can cause breathing problems. But that’s exactly what these workers from East Java, Indonesia, experience every day as they trek up and down the Ijen volcano to harvest the sulfur, used in this case to bleach sugar. (It’s also used to coat match heads and harden rubber.)
Photographer Kevin McElvaney captured these shots of the workers, who make a living by carrying close to 200 pounds of sulfur in baskets they rest on their shoulders. The pay for two four-hour trips each day? $11. Even though some of them wear gas masks, a particularly thick cloud can cause them to cough till they pass out. Maybe we should just stick to brown sugar.
Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Photo: Kevin McElvaneyonEarth provides reporting and analysis about environmental science, policy, and culture. All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of NRDC. Learn more or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.