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:

• Sewage and wastewater treatment systems – Anywhere organic material, human or animal waste is left to break down
• Restoration, renovation and demolition – Excavation work in landfills or swamps
• Mining – Mineral rock containing hydrogen sulfide found in tunnels
• Oil and gas – Drilling can release hydrogen sulfide dissolved in oil and gas
• Additional environments – Pulp and paper, hot asphalt production, manure pits, food processing, agriculture silos, etc. are also common areas where H2S can be found

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.