Kirkjubæjarklaustur no relation skeletal fluorosis
Consequences in Iceland
The consequences for Iceland, known as the Móðuharðindin [ˈmouːðʏˌharðɪntɪn] (mist hardships), were disastrous. An estimated 20–25% of the population died in the famine after the fissure eruptions ensued. (Some sources specify a death toll of 9,000 people.) Approximately 80% of sheep, 50% of cattle and 50% of horses died because of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis from the 8 million tons of fluorine that were released. The livestock deaths were primarily caused by eating the contaminated grass; the subsequent famine claimed many of the human lives that were lost.The parish minister and provost of Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla, Jón Steingrímsson (1728–1791), grew famous for the eldmessa [ˈɛltˌmɛsːa] ("fire mass") that he delivered on 20 July 1783. The church farm of Kirkjubæjarklaustur was endangered by a branch of the lava flow that halted not far from the farm while the Rev. Jón and his parishioners were worshipping in the church. The spot at which the lava diverted away from the church became known thereafter as Eldmessutangi [ˈɛltˌmɛsːʏˌtʰauɲcɪ] ("Fire Mass Point").
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