Hydrogen Sulfide
hydrogen-sulfide

_This is the organizing page for research related to hydrogen sulfide in Public Lab._ (above: [DIY colorimetric strips](/notes/megan/9-7-2012/first-experiment-analyzed) reacting to H2S by @megan) ### What is hydrogen sulfide, what are its effects, and where is it found? Hydrogen sulfide, with the chemical formula H2S, is a flammable gas that has a pungent odor at low concentrations and is odorless at higher concentrations. It can be a respiratory irritant and a neurotoxin. [Read more about hydrogen sulfide health effects](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-effects). Hydrogen sulfide is naturally formed in low-oxygen conditions with sulfate present, such as in organic-rich sediments and thus in petrochemical source rocks. Upon exposure to oxygen, hydrogen sulfide readily oxidizes to sulfur dioxide or sulfate, and generally reacts within hours to days. [Read more about hydrogen sulfide sources and spatial and temporal variation](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-environment) ### How are hydrogen sulfide emissions and exposures regulated? In the United States, hydrogen sulfide emissions are only federally regulated to the extent that they contribute to sulfur dioxide formation, and thus acid rain. These emissions are regulated through the Prevention of Significant Deterioration of major stationary sources review and permitting. Exposure to hydrogen sulfide is mostly regulated in terms of occupational exposure, with very few states regulating ambient exposure to this toxin. [Read more about hydrogen sulfide regulations](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-regulations) ## How can hydrogen sulfide be measured? While there is no federal regulatory method for hydrogen sulfide in the US, labs, agencies, and oilfield workers often measure hydrogen sulfide gas through several different means: * badges or glass tubes that change color * continuously sampling electronic sensors, some worn by oilfield workers * [air grab sampling](/wiki/air-sampling), as by the Bucket Brigades, tested with gas chromatography > We're compiling information about the **pros, cons, prices, and sensitivity/limitations** of these techniques: [What are different commercially available hydrogen sulfide detection methods?](/notes/warren/12-04-2017/what-are-different-commercially-available-hydrogen-sulfide-detection-methods) ## Do-It-Yourself approaches to detection There are three prototype, low-cost hydrogen sulfide detection methods currently being explored by Public Lab community members. These include: * a [method using photographic paper](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-photopaper) * a [copper tarnishing method](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-copper-pipe) * a technique using a [Do-It-Yourself potentiostat](/notes/JSummers/03-10-2014/quantifying-airborne-hydrogen-sulfide) * commercial [electronic H2S sensors](/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-sensor) connected to a computer or #arduino > Help out! Please help link the above bullet points to corresponding pages across this site. **** ## Questions We can't make progress on these techniques and resources without addressing our unknowns. Please ask questions to help shape the direction of our work! [questions:hydrogen-sulfide] **** ## Related pages See [other related wiki pages here](https://publiclab.org/wiki/tag/hydrogen-sulfide) **** ## Activities These activities are to guide you to test out hydrogen sulfide detection methods or use these tools in the field: [activities:hydrogen-sulfide] **** ## Where can I find more information? Two particularly good resources are listed below. Other hydrogen sulfide wiki pages (mentioned above) include additional relevant resources. 1. Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. 2016. Hydrogen Sulfide Fact Sheet. [https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp114-c1-b.pdf](https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp114-c1-b.pdf). 2. National Research Council. 2010. Acute Exposure Guidelines. [https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-11/documents/hydrogen_sulfide_final_volume9_2010.pdf](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-11/documents/hydrogen_sulfide_final_volume9_2010.pdf). ...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
gretchengehrke "Here are before and after photos. We did not expect (and did not observe) any discoloration since we were only putting them out for less than 24 ho..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Here is a picture after sanding one of the little copper strips. The green pad is actually soft sandpaper / polishing paper. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Here is a picture of cutting the copper sheet into strips. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Hi @warren, Thanks for the reminder to add pictures. I have tried inserting photos a few times today, but it keeps crashing the edit (and, seemingl..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "And if there are any photos of these steps, i'd love to help make diagrams to illustrate the process! " | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "Hi! Do you have photos you can attach for what the copper should look like before/after H2S exposure? Or after any possible false positives? " | Read more » over 6 years ago
zengirl2 "@gretchengehrke OK, ty for the response. Sounds like I need to check manufacturers about the copper tape to see how pure it is. Also, I was thinkin..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Hi @Zengirl2, I'm not sure about the copper strips. Whatever copper is used needs to be fairly pure, and I'm not sure if the copper tape is pure c..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "@sarasage posted this about odor logs and it has specific types of odors to look out for, like "rotten eggs" -- https://publiclab.org/notes/sarasa..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
zengirl2 "@gretchengehrke Do you know if copper tape can be used? I'm considering giving testers out at the Factory Farm Summit mounted on cardboard. Also, s..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "Ah cool, i found it! When you are done with the experiment, simply unlink the two hoses and put the output from the pump into a bottle of bleach. ..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "I wonder if @shanlter knows about absorbing #h2s #hydrogen-sulfide -- and also I saw @jsummers had a system for eliminating h2s from a test setup -..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
zengirl2 "I was really excited to work on this at BarnRaising. As a group we constructed sensors by using tin snips to cut sheets of copper, which is a bit t..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
eustatic "i'm tagging this and mathew's volume calibration video with "h2s" " | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "Nice! ChemSee's H2S-KT1 contains two hydrogen sulfide dosimeters, FULL USE INSTRUCTIONS and in-lab analysis by ChemSee. Together, these two items ..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
zengirl2 "There's also this post on sensors from this Public Lab post. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
stevie "I've found a couple systems for grab sampling. It seems as though there are some commercially available systems such as the Summa Canister, but the..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
sarasage "RKI (Riken Keiki) makes an popular 4-gas monitor, the GX-2012, which includes CO, O2 as well as CH4. The cal station doubles the cost of the equipm..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "There are a bunch of sensors commercially available through this vendor: https://www.grainger.com/category/ecatalog/N-1z0dwuc. Has anyone used one ..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "Hi, just wondering - were the controls completely sealed, or did you also put controls in areas where there was air, but not air with H2S? Just thi..." | Read more » almost 7 years ago
warren "Just in case the Slideshare disappears, i'm uploading the PDF here: deaverfinal-140617232405-phpapp01.pdf " | Read more » almost 7 years ago
warren "Hi, Sophie - did you get to do your follow-up tests? I'm curious what's happened since you published this! Thanks! " | Read more » about 8 years ago
JSummers "Hi Gretchen, We are making no attempt to degas the sulfuric acid solution. First, we used relatively dilute acid which we assume will behave more ..." | Read more » about 9 years ago
gretchengehrke "Hi Jack, Two quick thoughts: (1) Have you degassed your sulfuric acid too? For whatever reason, in my experience, H2SO4 takes longer to degas than..." | Read more » about 9 years ago