All eyes this morning are focused on the Puna Geothermal Venture power plant on the big island of Hawaii as lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano gets closer to the site. The plant provides 25% of the power for the island, and its loss would be devastating, but it’s the toxic element that has people more concerned.

PXHere From NPR: The plant harvests hot liquid and steam from underground wells to drive turbine generators for electricity, which is then sold to the state’s utility. Another risk, besides the loss of power, rests in what might happen if the lava overcomes the state’s protective measures: “There’s a steam release, there’s many chemicals, but primarily the critical factor would be hydrogen sulfide, a very deadly gas,” Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency chief, Tom Travis, told reporters Monday night.

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NBC News “County, state, and federal partners have been collaborating closely to monitor the situation and work with PGV to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities,” the civil defense agency said in its alert. “Ten of the eleven wells have been quenched. Efforts are ongoing to make sure the site is secure and the community is kept safe.” When officials refer to “quenching,” Travis explained, they mean “filling [the wells] full of cold water so that the weight of the cold water sitting in the pipe, the long pipe, is sufficient that instead of hot water entering the bottom of the well, cold water exits the bottom of the well.”

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NPS It is the second step after simply shutting all the wells, which he says they already did when the event began. Crews were working overnight to quench the 11th and final well. “Once that step is taken, we will be in a much more solid state for having lava overflow the site,” Travis added late Monday. “It’s not easy to predict where it’s going to go and when it’s going to get there. So it’s important that we get what we can done now.”

Wikimedia Commons So, it seems that things have been managed as best they can up to this point, but as NBC News is reporting, the potential for a toxic gas situation is still foremost in everyone’s minds. From NBC: Although workers plugged the wells, if the lava does make contact with the geothermal plant, greater problems could occur. The worst scenario, according to Hawaii News Now, is that lava enters the wells and releases toxic gases into the air. Twice lava has come within approximately 300 to 600 feet of the plant, Travis said. If the gas — hydrogen sulfide — is released, residents will be notified and would need to be removed from the area, Ige said.

NPS Again, authorities have been very pro-active and done all they can to avert disaster at the plant. The plant itself was shut down after Kilauea started erupting. Officials also removed 50,000 gallons of pentane, a flammable gas, from the plant. Now, all we can do is wait and see what happens with these fissures of lava near the plant. Let’s continue to hope and pray for the best.