Toxic Work On Indonesia's Blue Volcano

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
  • It’s a breathtaking spectacle; as night falls, sulfurous, electric blue flames stream from java’s Kawah Ijen volcano.
    Looming 2,799 meters above sea level, the characteristic blue flames are created when sulfuric gases emerge from the cracks in the volcano. They then ignite as they come into contact with air.
    Some of these gases form liquid sulfur that continues to burn as it melts down the side of the mountain, giving the illusion of blue lava.
    For some, a nighttime trek here is a once in a lifetime sight. For others, this is work.
    As day breaks, the striking blue flames are replaced with seas of yellow hardened sulfur, used in products like matches, rubber, cosmetics, and insecticides.
    The miners who collect this sulfur risk their lives on these slopes; braving a backbreaking journey 9000 feet to the summit and then trekking down into the crater to load up their baskets with slabs of sulfur.
    Average life expectancy in this line of work is just 50 years old. And in the last four decades, over 70 miners have died on the job.
    The suffocating gas that fills the air can dissolve teeth. It stings the eyes, lungs and throat.
    But it’s rare to see miners wearing gas masks. Instead, they block out the caustic fumes with cotton scarves.
    It’s also common to see deformed spines among workers, as they carry heavy sulfur-filled baskets weighing up to 200lbs down the mountain.
    Paid around 74 cents for every 10kg, most workers earn little more than, $10 dollars a day - this might not seem like much, but it’s higher than the local average.
    Most of the miners have families, and see a good education as the only way that their children will avoid a life mining this so-called devil’s gold.
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ความคิดเห็น • 1

  • @PissMenn
    @PissMenn 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Where is Indonesian overproud?