Hydrogen Sulfide/water and safety

[nohorn]

Our well has hydrogen sulfide in it. The concentration I do not know. I do know the more water we use and don't let it build up in the well head it seems less strong. We do not drink the water, we only take showers, baths, and wash hair. Well I know it builds up on my hair and I use special products to take it off my hair. However, does it do any harm to me, like does my skin absorb it or any element of the hydrogen sulphate? I know sulphate is not good for you to ingest. Any information would be most appreciated.

[Answerprancer]

Eww ! ...eggy.

[nohorn]

Eggy, is not much of an answer. I need some real answers.

[Answerprancer]

oOOOoh - keep yer hair on !
There's plenty of space below for the deluge of helpful responses I'm sure people will rush to give.

[Buenchico]

Hydrogen sulphide is slightly soluble in water, producing a very weak acid. It's nowhere near as strong an acid as, for example, lemon juice or vinegar. If you wouldn't be worried about your hair or skin coming into contact with those substances (remembering that lemon juice is often an ingredient in expensive shampoos anyway) there is absolutely no reason to worry about hydrogen sulphide being dissolved in your well water.

Chris

[nohorn]

Thanks Chris. I appreciate your time!

[Answerprancer]

..but not mine? ;-)

[nohorn]

It was hardly a blockbuster gobsmaking answer, you silly boy

[Answerprancer]

Aw I'm sorry - next one will be a proper answer ..I promise ;-)

[jomifl]

Hydrogen sulphide is absorbed by the skin and has caused the death of scuba divers.That said, if you can smell it, it means the concentration in the air is not lethal though the same cannot be said for the concentration in the water(it anaesthetises the nerve sensors that detect it so when it reaches a lethal concentration you can't smell it) . As Chris pointed out it is only slightly soluble in water so if you can hold the well water in an open topped tank (possibly aerated with with an aquarium aerator) for a few hours it should all escape into the atmosphere.

[jomifl]

Hi Answer.. do you get your eggs from tesco?

[sddsddean]

Following on from jomifl's answer, when I did my 'Safety in Sewers' course (yep, I know how to live!) many years ago I was told that At 5ppm (parts per million) you can smell it; at 7ppm it anaethetises the nerves in your nose (so you can't smell it) and you think its gone away. At 9ppm its fatal! Thats why you use gas detectors in sewers!

[nohorn]

OKnow I think I confused myself. Hydrogen Sulfate and hydrogen sulfide are two different compounds? Which are dangerous? When dissolved in water they produce an acid? Do they both smell the same? Our skin absorbs them? Is that why I don't fell well?

[jomifl]

hydrogen sulphide (sulfide for our american cousins) H2S is the smelly gas which is poisonous
hydrogen sulphate ( unless anybody else knows differently) would be sulphuric acid

[jomifl]

sqad might know what the sublethal symptoms of hydrogen sulphide poisoning are, it's a bit outside my area of knowledge and I wouldn't want to *** on this one.

[theprof]

In the absence of Sqad, perhaps you'll allow me to provide some details of short term exposure to hydrogen sulphide.

Hydrogen sulphide irritates the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It may also affect the central nervous system. Inhalation can cause pulmonary oedema which may be delayed by several hours eventually resulting in death. Levels of 20 ppm may cause headache, loss of appetite and dizziness. 50 ppm may cause muscle fatigue. 300 ppm may cause muscle cramps, low blood pressure and unconsciousness after 20 minutes. Levels of 500 ppm can cause immediate loss of consciousness, slowed
respiration and death in 30 - 60 minutes. At levels of 700 ppm and above respiratory paralysis and death can occur in seconds. Non-fatal cases may recover fully or may
experience abnormal reflexes, dizziness, sleep disturbances and loss of appetite that last for months or years. Hydrogen sulphide is readily absorbed by the skin, causing irritation, reddening and swelling. Eye exposure to hydrogen sulphide may be felt at levels as low as 0.1 ppm. Levels of 10 ppm and above in the eyes can cause irritation, pain, lachrymation and increased light sensitivity.

[theprof]

Signs and symptoms of acute exposure to hydrogen sulphide may include tachycardia (rapid heart rate) or bradycardia (slow heart rate), hypertension (high blood pressure), cyanosis (blue tint to skin and mucous membrane), cardiac palpitations; and cardiac arrhythmias. Dyspnoea (shortness of breath), tachypnoea (rapid respiratory rate), bronchitis, pulmonary oedema; respiratory depression; respiratory paralysis may occur. Neurological effects include giddiness, irritability, drowsiness, weakness, confusion, delirium, amnesia, headache, sweating, and dizziness. Muscle cramping, tremor, excessive salivation; cough, convulsions, and coma may be noted. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea are commonly seen. Exposure to hydrogen sulphide gas may result in skin irritation, lachrymation, inability to detect odours, photophobia (heightened sensitivity to light), and blurred vision.

[theprof]

The Permissible Exposure Limits For Air (PELA) for hydrogen sulphide vary between around 10ppm (15mg per metre cubed) to 15ppm (20mg per metre cubed) in most countries of the world nowadays although if I remember correctly, Thailand has a limit of 20ppm.

To give you some idea of the amount of natural hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere, it's around 0.05 parts per billion.

Hydrogen sulphide has a solubility of 0.47 grams per 100ml of water at 20 degrees C.

[theprof]

To get back to your original question nohorn, as long as don't drink it, it won't do you any harm. Carry on removing it from your hair if you believe it has a deleterious effect on your hair quality but hydrogen sulphide won't enter your body via your hair.

You are in no danger of skin absorbtion under the circumstances you describe. Forgive me for not going into any detail about this but it revolves around skin properties along with complex biochemical pathways in the human body, so please take my word for it!

[nohorn]

Thank you to the prof.....I am happy to know that when I take a bath in it that it will not be absorbed by the skin. If we invest $2,200 we can have a water filter that will take it out, we will do so as soon as we can afford that.