Effects of exposure to high levels ppm or higher of hydrogen sulfide can be serious and life-threatening. Effects include shock, convulsions, inability to breath, rapid unconsciousness, coma, and death.
There are several ways you can protect against exposure to hydrogen sulfide. One is by using engineering controls such as ventilation systems that remove gas from work spaces. Since hydrogen sulfide is highly flammable, the ventilation system must be explosive-proof. Another safety measure is to employ administrative controls. Administrative controls can come in the form of company rules for entering, exiting and working in spaces where hydrogen sulfide gas is present.
Safety training and gas level testing are also effective administration controls. A third way to prevent health problems caused by hydrogen sulfide exposure is to use personal protective equipment PPE. PPE for hydrogen sulfide includes full-face air purifying respirators APR for gas amounts up to ppm, and self-contained breathing apparatuses SCBA or supplied air lines for gas amounts reaching ppm or higher. If direct skin contact with hydrogen sulfide is possible, workers must wear protective gloves and clothing made from material that cannot be permeated or degraded by the substance.
Learn more about hazard identification and risk assessment today. Facility equipment, including the internal surfaces of various components, faces reduced durability and impact strength, potentially leading to premature failure.
Hydrogen sulfide is a fast acting poison, impacting many systems within the body. Importantly, gas detectors such as Blackline's G7 wireless gas detector, should be considered as they alert live monitoring personnel of worker H2S gas exposure. Devices with a fast response time and sturdy construction are important for use in harsh environments where H2S may occur.
Additionally, as H2S may desensitize and render the body unconscious in no time at high concentrations, connected personal monitoring equipment is crucial. Those exposed to H2S gas should remove themselves from the toxic environment immediately. Rescuers need to take caution when approaching victims who cannot evacuate independently, as to not be harmed themselves by H2S exposure. Respiratory protection is recommended when entering an H2S environment, as is a safety line, because of the very rapid toxic effects of the gas.
There are no proven antidotes to H2S gas poisoning, but side-effects and symptoms can be treated or managed. In serious cases, hospitalization may be necessary. It is important to remain vigilant and avoid complacency with your safety program. Gas detection equipment must be calibrated regularly and frequently bump tested. What is H2S gas? Averaging timeframe is the time over which the measured level of hydrogen sulfide in air is averaged and relates to potential short or possibly longer term effects.
The 2 ppm limit value is associated with bronchial effects in some sensitive asthmatics and so should not be exceeded. The other limit values have safety margins built into them and so an exceedence does not necessarily mean a health consequence.
The Department recommends that bore water or any water that contains more than 0. This is based on protecting the aesthetic quality of the water smell and taste and is not related to health. At high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in water, emissions of the gas may pose a respiratory risk to health under unfavourable conditions such as prolonged large scale irrigation close to residences.
Exposure of the public to hydrogen sulfide in WA is nearly always just a nuisance or amenity issue. If people are made aware of this then anxiety and resentment are likely to be reduced, as are some of the odour-related indirect health effects such as headaches. Direct health effects from exposure to environmental sources of hydrogen sulfide are only likely in very rare cases. These are likely to be confined to sensitive groups such as some asthmatics and the effects are likely to be minor and temporary.
If the smell of hydrogen sulfide is strong or you are concerned about its impacts on your amenity or health, you can reduce your exposure by:. If the hydrogen sulfide is being generated by human activities then appropriate management of those activities may help address the problem at source. For instance industrial emissions might be dealt with through process or engineering controls such as containment or filter ventilation.
When bore water is contaminated with hydrogen sulfide it is sometimes possible to treat the bore with an agent which removes iron from the water and therefore interferes with bacterial activity which happens to generate the gas. Use of hydrogen sulfide impacted water for irrigation purposes has the potential to release considerable amounts of gas, as mentioned above.
Methods for reducing odour impacts include the following:. For some of these measures consultation with the Department of Water external site may be necessary if there is a possible conflict with watering rosters. If the hydrogen sulfide is the result of sea grass deposition and decay then usually it only acts as a nuisance.
Deposition occurs on some beaches during winter in particular and often is removed naturally by subsequent storms. Prolonged accumulation can generate an odour problem for nearby residences or passers-by especially if the deposit is being disturbed or when there are light onshore winds.
This does not normally present a potential health risk except for very large amounts of sea grass and major disturbance such as periodically occurs at Port Geographe. For advice and interpretation of water or air monitoring testing results contact toxicologists at the Environmental Health Directorate on Go back to Top.
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