The Honolulu Advertiser - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will assist the State of Hawai‘i in assessing potential health risks associated with the volcanic gas spewing from Kilauea. A CDC team, with investigators from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, will visit the Big Island next month to conduct an analysis on the vog. The visit was discussed in a closed-door, unannounced meeting on Friday, July 24, of the state interagency task force on vog hazards. Details of the state Civil Defense-led gathering were included in a statement released by the Health Department on Friday evening. State Civil Defense spokesman Ray Lovell said the meeting did not fall under the Sunshine Law, which mandates openness in government. Lovell said information from the meeting will develop recommendations for short-term and long-term actions. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, but in mid-March, a new vent formed at the summit, giving Kilauea two large sulfur dioxide outlets instead of one. Sulfur dioxide can lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses and aggravate lung and heart disease.