How to deal with hydrogen sulfide poisoning?
In news reports, acute hydrogen sulfide poisoning incidents are common. Moreover, once poisoning occurs, it often causes serious consequences of multiple casualties. How to reduce tHe occurrence of such tragedies is a problem faced by the whole society.Hydrogen sulfide is so terrible, do you know it? When acute hydrogen sulfide poisoning occurs, do you know how to save others and yourself?
1.What are the hazards of hydrogen sulfide?
Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic colorless gas with a "rotten egg-like" smell. The harm of hydrogen sulfide to the human body is closely related to its concentration. The higher the concentration, the greater the harm. When people are exposed to low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas, it will irritate the eyes and respiratory tract; high concentrations can cause headaches, dizziness, and pulmonary edema; when the concentration increases further, acute poisoning can quickly occur, causing respiratory paralysis, which can lead to death if not treated in time; when the concentration exceeds 1000mg/m3, respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest can occur within seconds or minutes, commonly known as "electric shock-like" death.
2.What should you do after a hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident occurs?
In previous cases of hydrogen sulfide poisoning, many people rushed into the accident site to rescue their companions out of eagerness to save others, which led to their own hydrogen sulfide poisoning and death. Therefore, once a suspected acute hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident occurs, remember not to rush to rescue, but to take the following measures:
First, report to the relevant person in charge immediately and stop the operation that causes hydrogen sulfide poisoning;
Second, mark out the dangerous area and evacuate the accident site immediately;
Third, rescuers wear positive pressure air respirators to enter the scene and find the cause. Since hydrogen sulfide is flammable, open fire operations are prohibited during the rescue process;
Fourth, if someone is poisoned, the rescuers should immediately move the poisoned person to a fresh air place upwind outside the accident site. If the poisoned person has stopped breathing and heartbeat, artificial cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed immediately and sent to a nearby medical institution for treatment in time;
Fifth, strengthen ventilation at the accident site to dissipate the leaked hydrogen sulfide as soon as possible. If the concentration of hydrogen sulfide continues to rise and cannot be controlled, it should be reported to the government department immediately and the people downwind should be evacuated in time.
3.Misunderstandings about the prevention and control of hydrogen sulfide hazards
Although hydrogen sulfide smells like "rotten eggs", it is absolutely impossible to judge whether there is a hydrogen sulfide leak by smelling it. This is because high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas will directly paralyze our olfactory nerves, making us unable to smell. Therefore, professional instruments must be used to detect hydrogen sulfide.
After a hydrogen sulfide leak occurs, can you cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel to prevent poisoning? The answer is no. Although hydrogen sulfide is soluble in water, the amount of hydrogen sulfide gas that a wet towel can absorb is limited and is not enough to play a protective role. Therefore, in places where hydrogen sulfide may leak or escape, emergency rescue items such as positive pressure air respirators and escape-type respiratory protective equipment are required.
The national occupational health standard "Guidelines for Protection against Occupational Hazards of Hydrogen Sulfide" (GBZ/T 259-2014) clearly stipulates the responsibilities and requirements of employers in the protection against occupational hazards of hydrogen sulfide, such as setting up management agencies, equipping management personnel, formulating management systems and emergency plans, taking necessary engineering protection measures and equipping personal protective equipment. For operators who may be exposed to hydrogen sulfide, they must be trained before they can take up their posts. Only in this way can we control the occurrence of hydrogen sulfide poisoning accidents from the source.