During the Mount St. Helens eruptions, lead 210 and polonium 210 were measured in volcanic ash samples. Polonium 210 was consistently higher than lead 210 in all samples, with the 210Po/210Pb ratios ranging from 2 to 12. The overequilibrium of the ratios is due to the enrichment of polonium compounds in the volcanic gases from hot magma relative to less volatile lead compounds.