Hydrogen sulfide gas awareness
In the oil and gas industry, hydrogen sulfide gas is one of the biggest problems involved. The worker has to be aware of the hazard all the time, due to the nature of this dangerous gas. An instrumentation professional working in the oil and gas, refinery, petrochemical, or similar industry should be aware of the presence of H2S gas during any allotted job. As the process line carries tons of natural gas, sour gas, crude oil, etc. Hydrogen sulfide awareness is important for each and every individual person.
If any leakage is present immediately evacuate from the area and with proper protection equipment take the work. As H2S is a colorless gas you can’t able to visualize it. And you can sense the H2S gas with the rotten egg smell only in low ppm. And hence the portable detector has to be carried all the time.
The H2S detectors are fixed in most of the places in the industry, where there is the possibility of exposure. And one should not avoid the alarm of H2S. And the alarm in the industry is differentiated by the means of color code. Mostly blue light is used for H2S. It may differ in each organization. So if the person is trained with hydrogen sulfide awareness according to the the standards, he can act in case of an alarm event to evacuate from that place.
The H2S detector is installed in the air conditioning duct of the building located inside the industry. The H2S leakage may enter the conditioning system and may risk the life of the person working inside. To avoid that detector help to indicate the presence of H2S in The air system before any incident. The H2S detector calibration is essential to avoid hazards in case of failure.
Some of the place where there is the possibility of H2S encounter are discussed below.
*While attending any online job like transmitter flushing always do it from the opposite side. If the vent is not lined to the flare header.
*In the control valve, the leakage in the gland or flange may happen over time. Isolate the process line and take the work.
*In the analyzer unit, the sample of gas will be continuously monitored. And in such cases the leakage of H2S gas is possible. By following the safety measure you can prevent yourself from the hazard.
*While doing calibration of the instrument with sample gas around 10-20 ppm. Exposure to gas for a longer time leads to irritation of the eye, throat and causes headache.
*During shutdown time you may think as there is no process is going on. So there is no hazard are available. The H2S will get mixed with liquid and stay there until they get disturbed. By disturbing it the gas will get raised and lead to exposure. To confirm the line is purged with steam before taking the work. The relevant department will undergo this procedure without fail but it’s good to reconfirm for our safety.
