How to protect employers and employees against the dangers of H2S gas

Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, is a colorless, flammable, potentially hazardous and toxic gas.

Regulatory noncompliance and/or employer negligence can have a serious economic impact, with OSHA fines reaching more than $400,000 in addition to costly civil lawsuits. (Credit: EvGavrilov/Shutterstock)

It’s fair to say that workers’ compensation are two words no employer wants to hear, as no one wants an employee to experience an injury on the job. However, productivity sometimes takes priority over safety, causing companies across industry sectors to overlook safety practices and put their workers at risk. This oversight becomes especially hazardous for those working in environments that can produce potentially lethal gasses such as hydrogen sulfide, or H2S — one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities in the United States.

Living up to its name as the “silent killer,” H2S is a colorless, flammable, potentially hazardous and toxic gas. The primary method of exposure is through inhalation and workers can only smell the “rotten egg” odor of H2S when lower concentrations of the gas exist. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), H2S (also known as sour gas, sewer gas, stink damp, swamp gas and manure gas), is produced naturally from decaying organic matter and is found most commonly in industrial processes such as:

Alarmingly, H2S can instantly disable and even kill an untrained worker within minutes at higher exposure rates, as was the case recently with a utility contractor working on a new sewer line who was overcome and killed by the gas after entering a manhole. Those with less severe H2S exposure can experience symptoms including, nausea, headaches, convulsions, and skin and eye irritation, and can also experience long-term effects of exposure.

Fortunately, protective measures can be taken to mitigate risk, diminish liability and protect employees against the dangers of H2S. Companies must ensure safe working conditions and prepare their employees for the potential dangers of their jobs. Regulatory noncompliance and/or employer negligence can have a serious economic impact, with OSHA fines reaching more than $400,000 in addition to costly civil lawsuits. Establishing sound safety procedures and requiring accredited safety training courses that meet requirements set forth by OSHA, the API and other regulatory agencies are proven methods for employers to protect their workforce, reduce workers’ compensation claims, and decrease personal injury lawsuits.

Here are four ways companies can boost their safety programs and protect workers against overexposure to H2S:

  1. Provide best-in-class training to prepare workers for the potential hazards of their jobs. Choosing a well-established and accredited training program is very important. Workers must be educated on the risks they face on a jobsite, including those posed by hazardous gasses. Learning how to identify H2S and its characteristics, understand the concentration levels and properly react, use monitoring and personal protection devices, recognize the physical signs and symptoms of H2S exposure, and properly aid and treat others exposed to this deadly gas are all mission-critical.
  2. Frequent communications can remind everyone about safety. Review updated safety regulations with workers before launching any new program and be sure communication is ongoing. This can include meetings, lunches, awards, posters or even merchandise to create excitement and awareness around a safety campaign. How companies introduce and explain a new program or policy is key to its acceptance and success.
  3. Establish and communicate clear expectations and goals of acceptable safety performance. When employees know what they must accomplish and how it relates to an overall goal, they will feel more empowered to do what it takes to complete their responsibilities. Also, consider setting SMART goals so each employee will know their part in achieving success.
  4. Provide top-of-the-line monitoring and protection equipment. Choose the H2S monitoring and personal protection equipment and devices that best suit the needs of the company. Risk decreases significantly if workers are highly-trained and supplied with proper monitoring equipment, and have detailed safety and health procedures to follow when working in confined spaces and H2S prone environments.

To receive workers’ compensation benefits, employees only need to prove that they were exposed to H2S on the job and, as a result of that exposure, suffered illness or injury — regardless of who is responsible for the incident. This in mind, employers should do everything in their power to ensure their workers are safe on the job and prepared to confront the dangers of H2S, should they arise. Not only is it simple economics, ensuring the safety of the workforce is a moral obligation to bring workers home safely.

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Chris Detillier is the senior HSE advisor at Veriforce/PEC Safety. The views expressed here are the author’s own. 

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