H2S is a colorless, flammable, explosive and highly toxic gas. It may have a rotten egg odor, but it can also become odorless because it deadens your sense of smell, and you may not notice it after prolonged or repeated exposure. H2S can be found in many industries, including the petroleum (oil/gas/drilling/refining), agriculture, pulp and paper, and wastewater treatment industries as well as landfills, food processing plants and breweries.
Safety & Preventative Measures
There are several things that employers can do to keep workers as safe as possible in work sites or locations where exposure to H2S is a possibility.
- First, employers should provide adequate training and onboarding to new employees, and annual refresher training to current employees.
- Employers should show employees who need to don PPE how, when, and where to use it and make sure it is correctly fitted and easily accessible in case of an emergency.
- Employers should have written emergency procedures that employees are trained on, including what to do and where to go when an alarm sounds for emergency evacuation.
- Proper ventilation is a key preventative measure that should be used in confined spaces where H2S gas is likely to build up; ventilation is an engineering control that physically alters the environment to remove contaminants.
- Finally, fixed H2S monitors should be constantly running in areas where there may be leaks, pipes or production of H2S; continual monitoring is an administrative control and an important safety indicator.
BE AWARE NEAR H2S…CARRY DETECTION AND/OR PROTECTION!
Download flyer: STOTW_1310_H2S_Safety Download Spanish flyer: STOTW_1310_H2S_Safety_esp
