The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority
Halldór Runólfsson, CVO

Farmers are advised to follow closely information in the media regarding possible downfall areas. A simple way to monitor downfall on own farm is to put out a white dish. Once downfall of ash is established, the recommendation is to put all animals that are outside into stables and feed the animals indoors and provide fresh water during the downfall period and for as long as the ash persists on the ground.

In Iceland, most sheep and cattle are kept indoors over the winter. However, it is more common to keep horses outside where they have wind shelters and are fed baled hey. Horse owners are urged to provide their animals that are kept outside with plenty of hey and clean running water and to prevent the animals from grazing contaminated ground and drinking from stagnant pools or ditches.

Most farms in Iceland are connected to safe water supplies from underground sources, but where this is not the case, it is important to prevent ash and surface water from reaching the water supplies, for both public and animal health reasons and safe milk production.

The main problem that can arise from the downfall of volcanic ash is from high content of fluoride in the ash. Intake of fluoride is known to cause problems in bones and teeth, especially in growing animals. Problems with calcium metabolism are also known. The ash can also have mechanical effects on feet and teeth of the animals and cause problems in respiratory and digestive systems. The fluoride content of the ash from the volcano in the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in samples taken on the first day of the eruption was 23-35 mg/kg (dry ash), which equals 700-1000 mg/m in a layer of ash of 1 cm thickness.