Spatial analysis of respiratory disease on an urbanized geothermal field

Chronic exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H 2S) in the parts per billion–parts per million range occurs in the population of Rotorua, a city built upon an actively degassing geothermal field in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. H 2S is acutely toxic at high concentrations but little is understood of the health effects of chronic, low-level exposure. In Rotorua, H 2S emissions and ambient concentrations are heterogeneous and ∼30% of the greater urban area's population live upon or 5 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and its associated conditions are found in clusters which are spatially coincident with the geothermal field. Future work which investigates neurological and circulatory disease groups at the same or better spatial resolution may provide further insight into the chronic health effects of H 2S exposure than these preliminary findings indicate.