Some products we buy come from a blue volcano — but mining it has a dark side

When you slather lotion onto your body, light a match, or scoop laundry detergent into your washing machine, you probably don't think about where the materials that make these products came from.

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But in reality, hundreds of people in Indonesia risk their lives each day to secure a necessary ingredient for a variety of goods: sulfur.

The non-metallic, brittle element comes from an Indonesian volcano, which glows blue at night:

Kawah Ijen volcano blue lava
Worker trying to cool down some parts of sulfuric area. Sopon Chienwittayakun/Getty Images

Not all of the world's sulfur comes from Indonesia, but every day, miners scale the volcano and collect thousands of pounds of sulfurous slabs, which eventually are exported to China and Southeast Asia.

The work is extremely dangerous, and gases from the mine "singe the eyes, throat, and lungs and can even dissolve teeth," National Geographic reports.

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child sulfur mine
Luca Catalano Gonzaga/National Geographic

Photojournalists such as Italian photographer Luca Catalano Gonzaga and others have spent days in the belly of the mine, capturing the literally back-breaking work and horrific conditions associated with the job.

The following photos reveal the treacherous life of a sulfur miner in Indonesia.

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The Kawah Ijen volcano lies in East Java, Indonesia.

Kawah Ijen volcanic crater map_an
Google Images

The mouth of the mine sits near the foot of the crater, which holds a pool of turquoise water.

Kawah Ijen volcano
The Ijen volcano complex is a group of stratovolcanoes in the Banyuwangi Regency of East Java, Indonesia. It has sulfur lake, that is turquoise colored. www.tonnaja.com/Getty Images

Source: National Geographic

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The volcano is part of a complex of steep, conical stratovolcanoes in the Banyuwangi Regency of East Java, Indonesia.

Kawah Ijen volcano
porkio photograph/Getty Images

Source: Getty Images, Science Daily

Every night, the volcano emits an eerie blue liquid that appears to be lava ...

Kawah Ijen volcano blue lava
Santi Sukarnjanaprai/Getty Images

Source: National Geographic

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But it is actually the light emanating from the combustion of sulfuric gases.

Kawah Ijen volcano blue lava
Worker trying to cool down some parts of sulfuric area. Sopon Chienwittayakun/Getty Images

Source: National Geographic

The high temperature and pressure of the sulfuric gasses react with air to produce the faint blue light.

Kawah Ijen volcano
Flickr/Stéphane DAMOUR

Source: Smithsonian

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This "lava" of liquid sulfur floods into the mine and eventually hardens into a precious cake of yellow sulfurous material ripe for the picking.

carrying sulfur slab
Luca Catalano Gonzaga/National Geographic

Source: Time Magazine

Miners have been harvesting the sulfur here for the nearly 50 years since the volcano became active in 1968.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
A miner carries a load of sulphur out of Kawah Ijen volcanic crater Pablo Sanchez/Reuters

Source: National Geographic

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Every day, about 300 workers make the two-mile trek up the steep and rocky quarry walls.

Indonesian sulfur mine
Richard Liblanc/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

Then they plunge about 3,000 feet into the "womb" of the volcano to extract the materials with metal poles.

breaking sulfur slab
Luca Catalano Gonzaga/National Geographic

Source: National Geographic

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The miner's call the sulfur "devil's gold" because the conditions inside and outside of the mine are extremely dangerous.

sulfur miner in indonesia
Richard Liblanc/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

Toxic fumes billow from fissures in the rocks, which sear the eyes, throat, lungs, and can even dissolve teeth.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
A miner carries a load of sulphur out of Kawah Ijen volcanic crater Pablo Sanchez/Reuters

Source: National Geographic

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Those who can afford them wear proper masks.

sulfur mine mask
Matt Paish/Flickr

Source: Time Magazine

Others aren't so fortunate. They bite through wet towels or scarves to help them breathe while they work.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
A miner bites on a wet towel to help him breathe through his mouth in the sulphurous fumes as he collects cooled sulphur at Kawah Ijen, a volcanic crater in Indonesia's East Java province, May 26, 2010. The mining operation consists of channelling escaping volcanic gasses through networks of ceramic pipes from an active vent at the edge of the crater lake, resulting in the condensation of molten sulphur. The deep red molten sulphur pours slowly from the end of the pipes into pools on the ground, turning into yellow cakes of sulphur after it cools. It is then broken into large pieces to be carried by labourers to a collection centre at the foot of the volcano. Tim Chong/Reuters

Source: Reuters

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Many workers just try to get by with makeshift, and often unsatisfactory, face shields.

sulfur miner blocking fumes
Richard Liblanc/Flickr

On one day, a BBC crew noted a toxic cloud that billowed at a whopping 40 times the safe breathing level established by the UK.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
A miner bites on a wet towel to help him breathe through his mouth in the sulphurous fumes as he collects cooled sulphur at Kawah Ijen, a volcanic crater in Indonesia's East Java province, May 26, 2010. The mining operation consists of channelling escaping volcanic gasses through networks of ceramic pipes from an active vent at the edge of the crater lake, resulting in the condensation of molten sulphur. The deep red molten sulphur pours slowly from the end of the pipes into pools on the ground, turning into yellow cakes of sulphur after it cools. It is then broken into large pieces to be carried by labourers to a collection centre at the foot of the volcano. Tim Chong/Reuters

Source: BBC

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But no such limit for the miners exists.

Sulfur mine indonesia
Worker carrying sulfur on Ijen with smoke. Ekkachai Pholrojpanya/Getty Images

Source: BBC

The mine also generates scorching heat, which causes some to work at night when the conditions are cooler.

sulfur miners fumes
Paul Hessels/Flickr

Source: Time Magazine

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But fumes aren't the only source of misery. Miners often suffer mangled and lesioned backs, deformed spines, and bent legs from the heavy weight of their load.

deformed back
Luca Catalano Gonzaga/National Geographic

Source: National Geographic

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Their fully loaded packs can weigh up to 200 pounds.

sulfur miner indonesia
Richard Liblanc/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

And thick callouses and heavily-creased skin often mark sulfur miner's hands from gripping the wicker baskets.

lesioned hands sulfur mine
A sulphur miner's hands, heavily creased with thick skin from gripping wicker baskets. Matt Paish/Flickr

Source: Flickr

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These injuries often arise because sulfur miners don't take time to rest and recover after carrying their loads from the volcano to base camp.

sulfur mine indonesia
A miner with a skin lesion from carrying sulphur at Kawah Ijen, Java. Matt Paish/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

They are left with permanent scars.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
Detail of the shoulder of a miner as he queues at a collection centre at the foot of Ijen volcano Pablo Sanchez/Reuters
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And an average life expectancy of only 50 years.

sulfur miner indonesia 2
Richard Liblanc/Flickr

Source: Time Magazine

Because of the extreme occupational hazards of the job, miners discourage their children from following in their footsteps. But sometimes they have no other choice.

child sulfur mine
Luca Catalano Gonzaga/National Geographic

Source: Time Magazine

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The miners are paid about 78 cents per 22 pounds of sulfur. This amounts to about $5 per load.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
A miner puts his baskets of sulphur in a local market near the volcanic Kawah Ijen lake in Indonesia's East Java province June 25, 2008. Ed Davies, Reuters' deputy bureau chief Indonesia, describes spending a day with the sulphur miners of the East Java volcano in a Reuters Witness story. Picture taken June 25, 2008. Sigit Pamungkas/Reuters

Source: Time Magazine

If they can manage two trips in a day, miners can make about $10. A meager salary compared to the horrific occupational hazards associated with the job.

sulfur mine trip
Paul Hessels/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

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Once it is delivered to the factory at the foot of the volcano — about a 3-mile journey for the miners — workers cool the slabs.

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
Workers break up a cooled layer of pure sulphur a factory at the foot of Ijen volcano in Indonesia's East Java province, May 26, 2010. The sulphur are transported to the factory by labourers who trek over 5 km (3 miles) from the volcanic crater of Kawah Ijen. Around 13 tonnes of sulphur are extracted daily from the crater which are then used in sugar refineries, cosmetics, medicines and explosives. Tim Chong/Reuters

Source: Reuters

Then it is processed and exported. Manufacturers use it to make a range of household products ...

Kawah Ijen volcano sulfur mine
Detail of processed pure sulphur a factory at the foot of Ijen volcano in Indonesia's East Java province, May 26, 2010. The sulphur are transported to the factory by labourers who trek over 5 km (3 miles) from the volcanic crater of Kawah Ijen. Around 13 tonnes of sulphur are extracted daily from the crater which are then used in sugar refineries, cosmetics, medicines and explosives. Tim Chong/Reuters

Source: Reuters

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Including cosmetics, medicines, and explosives.

body lotion
gilaxia/Getty Images

Source: Reuters

It's even used to make matches, powdered laundry detergent, and insecticides ...

Match sticks
Hilary Brodey/EyeEm/Getty Images

Source: Ask.com

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And sugar.

sugar cubes
Tom Coates / Flickr

Source: Reuters

About 13 tons of sulfur are pulled from the mines every day.

sulfur from indonesian mine
Paul Hessels/Flickr

Source: Reuters

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Until the late 1800s, there were sulfur mines in Italy, New Zealand, Chile and Indonesia, volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer of Cambridge University told The BBC.

Asian worker carrying baskets of sulfur in Ijen volcano
In East Java island in Indonesia, the volcano Kawah Ijen contains plenty of natural sulfur. Indonesian male workers carry the blocks of sulfur in two baskets on their shoulder and they have to climb the crater to the top and down to the village. Joakim Leroy/Getty Images

Source: BBC

But eruptions, horrific conditions, and the advent of new mining techniques, Oppenheimer said, have prompted many countries to stop using humans to mine "devil's gold."

Sulfur mining of Ijen crater
Azrudin/Getty Images

Source: BBC

Indonesia
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