A suspected harmful gas poisoning incident occurred in Furong Bamboo Food Factory in Changning County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province during the maintenance of facilities. As of the 25th, the death toll has risen to 7, and 1 people are in stable condition and under treatment. The clinical manifestations of the dead were suspected of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
isn't hydrogen sulfide, which is famous for the smell of rotten eggs, one of the components of fart? Why are there poisonous gases in food factories?
In fact, hydrogen sulfide is found in every corner of our lives. Fart contains hydrogen sulfide, and so does snail powder, a delicacy in online celebrity. During the pickling and fermentation process, the cysteine contained in sour bamboo shoots of snail powder will be metabolized into "hydrogen sulfide", which is also one of the odor sources of snail powder.
However, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in fart and sour bamboo shoots is extremely low, which has little effect on people's health. Moreover, a small dose of hydrogen sulfide will stimulate the central nervous system and make people excited, which may be one of the reasons why many people like to eat snail powder.
However, high concentration of hydrogen sulfide is extremely toxic.
In fact, in China, hydrogen sulfide poisoning accidents rank second among occupational poisoning.
Previously, there was an incident of "a girl passed out in the toilet" in Korea. The 19-year-old girl was unconscious for more than ten days after being smoked down by leaked hydrogen sulfide in the public toilet. She died after being rescued for two months.
why is hydrogen sulfide so toxic? Let's take a look at this notorious gas.
Strong nerve agent
Hydrogen sulfide is an inorganic compound with the molecular formula of H2S. Under standard conditions, it is a flammable and acidic gas, colorless, with a sulfur smell at extremely low concentration, and a rotten egg smell at low concentration. It is highly toxic and heavier than air, and can spread to a considerable distance at a lower place.
Moreover, hydrogen sulfide is a strong nerve agent, which can paralyze the olfactory nerve.
after being inhaled, hydrogen sulfide passes through the respiratory tract, is sent to various organs of the human body, and then enters the blood. After entering the blood, it will block the human respiratory chain, causing hypoxia in tissues and cells, and the poisoned person will gradually lose the ability to act and consciousness, and eventually the brain cells will die of hypoxia.
the concentration of hydrogen sulfide that immediately threatens life or health is 1,411 mg/m3 (1,111 ppm). The effects of different concentrations of hydrogen sulfide on people are shown in the following table:
Why is there hydrogen sulfide in food factories
Hydrogen sulfide mainly exists in sewers, septic tanks, sewers (sulfur-containing organic matter degrades under anaerobic conditions, or decomposes under the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria to produce hydrogen sulfide), paper making, industrial waste treatment, coal mining and other industries.
On February 23rd, 2113, a serious blowout accident occurred in Luojiazhai, Gao Qiao Town, Chongqing, which resulted in 243 deaths and 2,142 hospitalizations due to hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
On April 4th, 2115, when the sewage treatment station of Fujian Fuwei Power Plant stopped for maintenance, hydrogen sulfide accumulated at the bottom of the pool caused five workers to be poisoned.
On February 5, 2119, a paper company in Zhongtang Town, Dongguan City suffered a gas poisoning accident, and seven workers died after being rescued.
Hydrogen sulfide can also appear in food factories, especially in brewing and pickling industries.
Hydrogen sulfide has antibacterial activity, which can induce the resistance of fruits and vegetables to pathogen infection, inhibit the growth of microorganisms, and then inhibit the occurrence of bad phenomena such as rot and chilling injury.
Hydrogen sulfide can also inhibit the respiratory metabolism of vegetables, reduce the rate of ethylene biosynthesis, maintain fruit hardness, delay discoloration and browning, and improve storage quality. Therefore, the vegetable pickled food factory may use hydrogen sulfide in its daily production process.
The manufacturer of this accident is a bamboo shoot food factory. Fresh bamboo shoots will produce "hydrogen sulfide" after curing and fermentation, so it is normal to have hydrogen sulfide.
of course, according to the investigation, the problem of hydrogen sulfide poisoning mainly lies in the sewage treatment.
It is worth mentioning that most of the deaths in this poisoning incident were rescuers. According to media reports, when the incident occurred, an employee inhaled toxic gas when he opened the lid of the sedimentation tank, and fell into the pool after being stunned by the toxic gas. Other employees and nearby residents went to save people, "one after another", resulting in many deaths.
Therefore, we must remind everyone that in case of hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident, those who take part in on-site rescue must do the rescue under the condition of safety protection, and do not blindly rescue.
in addition, in summer, the high temperature weather increases the risk of accidents in confined space, which poses a great threat to the life safety of workers.
Safety Risk Prevention Guide for Limited Space Operation in Summer
Parents who need it, please be sure to collect it.