C.A.T.

GROUP
HSE Training HSE/H2S/01
H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

9 APRIL 2021
Good Day & Welcome To
CAT Group

9 APRIL 2021
HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

Safety Brief
Emergency Procedure:
• Emergency Alarm and Assembly
point
• First Aid
• Toilets
• Canteen

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• Tea / Coffee
• Use of Mobile Phones
• Prayer Room

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 HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

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 C.A.T. GROUP
WHAT YOU DON’T SEE CAN KILL YOU! PROTECT YOURSELF

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Course Aim

• To provide individuals with awareness of the hazardous nature of

H2S and an understanding of how to protect themselves and their
colleagues from exposure.

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Training objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• Safe systems of work specific to H2S Area
• Safety precautions and PPE required for working in H2S Areas
• Occupational health effects of H2S exposure
• Emergency escape procedures when personal or facility H2S alarm
sounds

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• H2S area classification and the use of respiratory protection

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

H2S accident could be prevented if….

If workers had known:

• What is H2S ?
• Properties or features of H2S
• Locations where H2S could be present
• Health effects of H2S exposure
• What safety practices to follow and what equipment to use when

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H2S is present?
• What to do in an H2S emergency?

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HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

What is hydrogen sulphide

H2S?
Where does it come from?
What are its properties?

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HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

• Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) is a

highly poisonous, flammable gas
with a rotten egg smell in low
concentrations
• It is measured in parts per million
(ppm)
• It is also known as Marsh gas, Sour

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gas, Invisible killer or silent killer

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Location where H2S could be found

• Hydrogen Sulphide, (H2S) can be
found almost where oil, water & gas
are produced
• Production Separators
• Sulphur Removal Systems
• Water Knock-Outs
• Heater Treaters

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• Vapour Recovery Units
• Flotation Cells
• Wellheads or Tanks
• Pits, Cellars, Sewers

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S

• Colourless / Invisible / Silent killer

• Highly toxic
• Dispersible in air
• Heavier than air and settle in low lying areas
• Smell like rotten eggs at lower
concentrations
• Soluble in water

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• Highly Flammable
• Highly corrosive

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Colourless:
• Never depend on eyesight to sense its presence

Precaution:
• Installation of Fixed Alarm Systems

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• Always carry your H2S Personal monitor while in
an H2S area

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 H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Odour of rotten eggs:

• At concentrations between 100-300 ppm it deadens
the sense of smell within 3–15 min and immediately
at higher concentrations

Precaution:

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• Always carry your H2S Personal monitor in an H2S
area
• Never depend on your sense of smell to detect H2S

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Heavier than air:

• Tends to settle in low lying areas (trenches, open
hydrocarbon drains, etc)

Precaution:
• Avoid low-lying areas or carry out Gas Testing before

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entering
• Implement “Buddy System” wherever required

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Dispersion by wind:
• H2S is easily moved by wind/air currents

Precautions:
• The greatest protection from H2S is distance
• Always move crosswind and/or upwind if there is H2S leak
• Windsocks are always installed in H2S areas to note the

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wind direction.

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Soluble in Water:
• When dissolved in water it forms an acid. Causes eye
inflammation, respiratory tract irritation, coughing,
sore throat

Precaution:

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• Keep drinking water away from area or in closed
containers

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Highly Corrosive:
• H2S is highly corrosive by nature and corrodes
some metals like carbon steel, copper and copper
compounds, silver and silver compounds, etc

Precaution:
• Select materials that can be used in Sour Service

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during the design phase

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Properties of H2S & Precautions

Highly Flammable:
• Flammable range of 4.3% - 46%
mixture with air by volume and
burns with ‘blue flame’ producing
sulphur dioxide (SO2)

Precaution:

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• Ensure that all equipment required
in H2S areas are designed to be
intrinsically safe
• Do not drills, matches, sparking
tools (hammer/chisel) etc

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Exposure Limits

Permissible Exposure Limit:

• (10 ppm for an 8 hour period)
• It is the concentration at which it is believed that all
workers may repeatedly be exposed to, day after day
without adverse effects

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Short Term Exposure Limit:
• (15 ppm for a 15 minute /4 hours)
• Immediately Dangerous to Life or health: (100 ppm)

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

H2S concentration levels and Health effects

Parts Per Million

(PPM) Health Effects of H2S Exposure
Less than 10 ppm Smells like rotten eggs. Occupational exposure limit (OEL) is
8 hours a day, 40 hours a week
100 to 300 ppm • From 100 ppm, you will start losing sense of smell 3-15 minutes

• At 200 ppm, eyes inflammation, throat choking, coughing and skin

irritation

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• At 300 ppm, causes dizziness, labour breathing, and irrational
behaviour

500 to 700 ppm Rapid unconsciousness, brain damage unless victim is rescued
immediately
1000 ppm & above Death in few minutes.

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF HYDROGEN SULPHIDE

EXPOSURE
• Eye inflammation and throat irritation
• Causes tightness in chest, induces coughing and
irritates skin
• Causes dizziness
• Headache
• Severe breathing difficulties
• Irrational behaviour
• Blurred vision

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Effects and Factors of H2S

Duration:
• The length of time the individual is exposed

Frequency:
• How often has the individual been exposed

Intensity:

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• How high was the concentration of exposure

Individual vulnerability:
• The individual’s physiological make-up / age
factor

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

H2S Area Classification

High Risk Area:
An area with high probabilities of the atmosphere containing a contaminant at a
concentration at or above its IDLH concentration. Examples include Drilling &
Workover, Manned Offshore Platforms, Refinery Distillation, Chlorine Handling
Areas, Chemical Mixing Buildings.
Medium Risk Area:
An area with a medium probability of the atmosphere containing a contaminant
at a concentration at or above its IDLH concentration. Examples include Sulfur
Storage Plants, Utilities areas, Bulk Plants, Smaller Chemical Warehouses.
Low Risk Area:

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An area with low probabilities of the atmosphere containing a contaminant at a
concentration above its IDLH concentration. Examples would be utility units, truck
loading areas, parking areas etc.

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

H2S Detectors

Three main types of H2S Detectors in use

are:

• Fixed Systems
• Personal Monitors
• MultiGas Detectors

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Breathing Apparatus
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
(SCBA):
• A positive pressure atmosphere-supplying
respirator in which the respirable pressurized air
source is carried by the wearer.

Supplied Air Breathing Apparatus (SABA):

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• A positive pressure atmosphere-supplying
respirator in which the main supply of respirable
air is not carried by the wearer.

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H2S AWARENESS & ESCAPE

Emergency Escape Breathing Device (EEBD):

• This device consists of a pressurized cylinder supplying a
minimum of 15 Minutes breathable air and a hood or full
facepiece. It is to be used only for escape from an oxygen
deficient or contaminated environment.
• An emergency escape breathing device (EEBD) is only for
escape from a dangerous breathing environment to a
place of safety. EEBDs 15-Minutes shall not be used for
doing any work in a hazardous environment.

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HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

Emergency Response to H2S Leak

• Hold Breath
• Don EEBD/SCBA/SABA Look at
windsock to establish wind direction
• Do not run Move quickly cross-wind
or upwind from the leak source to
the designated assembly point/Safe
area
• Activate the H2S alarm if possible

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 Questions?
HSE TRAINING – HSE/H2S/01

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References
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910
• Saudi Aramco - G.I. Number 1780.001
• CSM 10.7

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