7 dead, 4 injured! A gas poisoning accident occurred in a Shandong enterprise

At around 13:30 on October 12, 2024, a gas poisoning accident occurred at Weifang Jinshi Biotechnology Co., Ltd., resulting in 7 deaths and 4 injuries. The injured are in stable condition. The person responsible for the accident has been controlled. At present, the aftermath work and investigation into the cause of the accident are underway.

The Ministry of Emergency Management learned that after receiving the report, the Ministry of Emergency Management quickly dispatched to understand the situation and required that the injured be rescued at all costs, the number of casualties be verified as soon as possible, and the aftermath be handled properly. Shandong Province was required to upgrade the investigation and handling of the accident, thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, and seriously investigate the responsibility in accordance with the law and regulations; it was necessary to reflect deeply, summarize the lessons, increase the intensity of confined space safety warning education and supervision and law enforcement, and enhance the safety awareness and emergency skills of practitioners. At present, the Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a working group to the scene to assist and guide the handling.

On October 13, a staff member of Shouguang City Emergency Management Bureau revealed that the cause of the accident was that hydrogen sulfide gas was produced in the enclosed limited space during fermentation. "After the gas was produced, people who entered died." The staff member also said that the number of casualties has not changed at present, and the higher-level investigation team is preparing to move in tomorrow.
Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable, suffocating gas with a strong odor. Once poisoned, the mortality rate is high and it is known as the "poison killer". Hydrogen sulfide poisoning often occurs in pipeline dredging, sewage desilting and other operations involving hydrogen sulfide in confined spaces, and should be treated with high vigilance. Hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs at low concentrations, but high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas not only have no smell, but also directly paralyze the olfactory nerves. When the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the air reaches 1000mg/m³, people may die suddenly if they inhale it.