A worker died of acute hydrogen sulfide (H2S) poisoning while responding to an alarming water pump involved in the process of extracting crude oil and natural gas. The worker was alone in the pump house, attempting to close process valves to isolate the pump. The pump unexpectedly energized either before the worker’s arrival or during his work, releasing water containing H2S gas into the pump house.
H2S monitors in and around the building were NOT functioning, and the worker was NOT wearing a personal H2S gas detector. The H2S concentration reached fatal levels killing the worker. A few hours later, out of concern that she had not heard from her husband in a while, the worker’s spouse entered the facility and died from H2S poisoning. The couple’s children were strapped into their child seats in the family vehicle parked just outside the pump house.
Emergency responders noted they could smell H2S as soon as they entered the facility. As they approached the pump house, the smell of H2S was overwhelming even though the pump houses’ bay doors were partially open and there were no H2S alarms.
Although the facility had been equipped with multiple H2S detection and alarm systems, none of the detectors communicated with the system’s control panel. Some detectors had been set to a testing mode, preventing any alarm signals from being sent by any of those detectors to the alarm control panel. Other detectors that were correctly set up were also unable to send a signal to the control room. The employer supplied personal H2S gas detectors, which would have notified the worker of the potential exposure with an audible alarm,
but they did not have formal written policies requiring their use.
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