Holla Steemians,
Today I would like to share what is H2S. In my line of work, I am required to know these basics and I would like to share with you about what I have learned recently.
Do you know what is H2S? It is called Hydrogen Sulphide. In each molecule of the gas is made up of two part hydrogen and one part sulphur atom.
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Why am I posting about H2S gases? Most if not all, do not know the character or danger of H2S gases. H2S gas can be found in our surrounding environment, and if we are not aware or careful, it can be deadly and KILL!!. I hope this will help educate some if not all of the steemians to be extra careful with our surroundings.
H2S also may be referred by many different names like...
- Stink Damn
- Rotten eggs gas
- Sour gas
- Sewer Gas
- Swamp Gas
Where do you find H2S?
H2S occurs in a variety of natural and industrial settings.
Natural occurrences
- In most volcanic gasses
- Decaying plants and animals protein
- In the human intestine as a result of bacterial actions, in which it becomes your shit. :)
Industrial settings
- H2S is a serious hazard to the health of workers employed at Mines
- Pulp & Paper Mills
- Sewers / Sewage treatment plants
- Chemical industries
- Oil and Gas industries
The characteristic chemistry of H2S describes as follows:-
- Deadly, and extremely toxic gas
- It is colorless or invisible
- Gas density is heavier than air at high concentrations
- Readily dispersed by wind
- Odour of rotten eggs at low concentrations (Smell like Fart sometimes)
- Sense of smell are destroyed at high concentrations
- It is corrosive to certain metals
- It is flammable and Detectable by a gas detector.
H2S is a deadly toxic gas and it can kill at high concentration. If one is exposed to high concentration of H2S, you would not be able to smell it and caused your brain to stop functioning and indirectly your whole body will not be able to function. This will cause you to be unconscious and eventually die due to lack or no oxygen to your brain within the 4 minutes if you're exposed to high concentration of this toxic H2S gas of 1000PPM or more.
Below are the level of concentration and effects or symptoms if one is exposed to. It is calculated at Parts Per Million (PPM) by volume.
| H2S (Concentration in PPM) | Effects & Symptoms |
|---|---|
| 4.60 | Moderate Odour |
| 10 | Eye irritation |
| 27 | Very unpleasant odour (sometimes refer to the smell of your fart) |
| 100 | Coughing, eye irritation, loss of sense of smell |
| 200-300 | Conjunctivitis & respiratory tract infection |
| 500-700 | Loss of consciousness, breathing stops, death within one (1) hours |
| 700-1000 | Immediate unconsiousness, breathing stops, death |
I hope the above information is educational to you and you will continue to be vigilant in your surroundings and help educate our family and friends around us.
I would like to conclude this post with a video on the dangers of H2S which cost 4 lives casualty. This incident happened in Shah Field, United Arab Emirates, ADCO Feb 2009.
