The Deadly Truth That Lies in Hydrogen Sulfide H2S

Hydrogen Sulfide can take a life with just one breath. It is such an important health and safety risk that should not be ignored or taken lightly. We want you to get home safely to your loved ones each and every day. Blue collar workers should not be injured or killed due to the lack of knowledge or proper training on Hydrogen Sulfide. We’re here to help, so here is some insight we want to share!

H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide) is commonly known as “The Silent Killer.” It is odorless, flammable, toxic, and a serious health risk. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) can have a distinct “rotten egg” smell, but it also doesn’t one hundred percent of the time. Depending on the level of H2S, it can be difficult to sense. That’s why it is very important to have detectors in place, as well as portable monitoring devices. You should know the manufacturer’s manual for these devices well, as they can vary by brand. These two things are vital things that can save your life and those around you on the work site, so don’t wait until you’re on the job before you know the ins and outs of how your monitor works, and the detectors in place on your work sites. 

The presence of hydrogen sulfide can cause eye irritation and harm the respiratory system. It is also prone to causing apnea, coma, convulsions; dizziness, headache, weakness, irritability, insomnia; stomach pain, vomiting, death, and even frostbite if in liquid form. H2S can also affect the brain’s cognitive abilities, and can cause major brain damage and brain fog. Victims exposed to H2S may not be coherent or even remember basic things like their date of birth, or how to escape safely from the H2S environment. This is why it is so important to have the right procedures in place, PPE, and a trained team with an emergency action plan.

Hydrogen sulfide is a little more dense than the air we breath, and it can collect and build in enclosed, slightly ventilated, and low-lying spaces.

Hydrogen sulfide can be found on many different work sites across many industries such as:

Manufacturing plants, natural gas and petroleum refineries, wastewater treatment facilities, farms with landfills and manure storage pits, maintenance/construction, and sewer/underground confined spaces. It can also produce in certain industrial productions such as oil tanning, mining refining, wood pulp processing, rayon manufacturing, craft paper processes, and certain food processes.

It accumulates from the natural process of decaying organic matter. Depending on where you live in the USA, you may have heard some of these common names: 

sewer gas, stink damp, swamp gas and manure gas, or sour damp.

From textile manufacturing to agriculture silos, we have to be prepared. You could be in a position where you don’t have H2S hazards often, but you could have a day in your line of work when you get called out on a job that has exposure potential. We encourage you to find out from your company what training and procedures they have in place to keep you protected. That is your natural birth right, and OSHA is here to help support and defend you! For example, you could have a one-off when you have to do some repair work in a sewer underground because the main contact called in sick or is on vacation. Don’t go in blind…remember your rights!

One of the most difficult things to hear about happening so often in an Hydrogen Sulfide, H2S incident is the people that go in to save one person, then end up passing away also because they’re not properly trained on how to rescue. There are many stories when one worker dies, and the company has no plan in place on what the other workers should do. Their heart gets the best of them, and they make the effort to save someone else. Unfortunately, most of the time they have no idea that they are majorly risking their own lives in doing so.

Employers who do not take H2S, Hydrogen Sulfide seriously are at a much higher risk of being shut down altogether due to fines and lawsuits. One worker death on the work site cost an employer close to one million, and that isn’t including lawsuits to follow that are easily a few to multiple millions of dollars. Companies need to make time for their employees and for what is right. Blue collar business owners need to make time for specific priorities to protect their biggest assets. Their people. And their profits. 

If a blue collar company has horrible safety numbers/records, they are not going to win bids easily. It doesn’t take all that much time for a company to assign the right people to get the job done as far as creating a safety program, developing a set of protocols, following their HSE manual, and scheduling their employees in annual H2S Hydrogen Sulfide safety training classes. 

If a blue collar company does struggle to complete these necessary tasks, they should look into third-party safety consulting and training companies that are insured with decades of experience. Here at True Safety, we specialize in not only meeting but exceeding compliance. We take your organization beyond compliance and restore the meaning of safety. Nobody wants to go to work and get killed. Nobody wants to even imagine that happening. Although, it happens too often. Workers can lose their entire life in a matter of seconds due to hydrogen sulfide, H2S. Don’t put a wedge between your life and your safety knowledge. Whether you’re an employer or an individual, make the time to get trained and informed instead of putting yourself at a deadly risk in a matter of time.

You cannot always see danger, but you can raise your awareness and increase your knowledge to take action and sense danger before it does harm.