Effect of hydrogen sulfide

Table 4. Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide Inhalation on Humans ...

Existing Information on Health Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide... 

The intermediate-duration effects of hydrogen sulfide on neurological function were examined by the measurement of motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities of the tail nerve or morphology of the sciatic nerve (Gagnaire et al. 1986). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0 or 50 ppm hydrogen sulfide for 5 days a week, for 25 weeks. The study authors did not report the duration of exposure to hydrogen sulfide per day. No neurotoxic effects were observed in the rats. 

Alterations in blood heme metabolism have been proposed as a possible indicator of the biological effects of hydrogen sulfide (Jappinen and Tenhunen 1990), but this does not relate to the mechanism of toxicity in humans. The activities of the enzymes of heme synthesis, i.e., delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALA-S) and heme synthase (Haem-S), were examined in 21 cases of acute hydrogen sulfide toxicity in Finnish pulp mill and oil refinery workers. Subjects were exposed to hydrogen sulfide for periods ranging from approximately 1 minute to up to 3.5 hours. Hydrogen sulfide concentrations were considered to be in the range of 20-200 ppm. Several subjects lost consciousness for up to 3 minutes. 

There appears to be some evidence that ethanol can increase the effects of hydrogen sulfide. In 6 cases, less hydrogen sulfide was needed for toxic effects to be observed when workers had consumed alcohol 16-24 hours earlier (Poda 1966). 

Effect. Potential biomarkers of the subclinical effects of hydrogen sulfide are decreases in the activities of the heme synthesis enzymes, ALA-S and Haem-S (Jappinen and Tenhunen 1990). These effects have nothing to do with the mechanism of toxicity, however. Neurological indices are also used as biomarkers of effect for hydrogen sulfide (Gaitonde et al. 1987 Kilbum 1993 Stine et al. 1976 Tvedt et al. 1991b). 

Section 104(I)(5) of CERCLA, as amended, directs the Administrator of ATS DR (in consultation with the Administrator of EPA and agencies and programs of the Public Health Service) to assess whether adequate information on the health effects of hydrogen sulfide is available. Where adequate information is not available, ATSDR, in conjunction with the NTP, is required to assure the initiation of a program of research designed to determine the health effects (and techniques for developing methods to determine such health effects) of hydrogen sulfide. 

Berglin EH, Carlsson J. 1986. Effect of hydrogen sulfide on the mutagenicity of hydrogen peroxide in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA102. Mutat Res 175 5-9. 

Bhambhani Y, Singh M. 1991. Physiological effects of hydrogen sulfide inhalation during exercise in healthy men. J Appl Physiol 71 1872-1877. 

De Kok LJ, Thompson CR, Mudd JB, et al. 1983. Effect of hydrogen sulfide fumigation on water-soluble sulfhydryl compounds in shoots of crop plants. Z Pflanzenphysiol Bd 111 85-89. 

EPA. 1976. Effect of hydrogen sulfide on fish and invertebrates, Part II—Hydrogen sulfide determination and relationship between pH and sulfide toxicity. Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Lab, Duluth, MN, by Broderius SJ, Smith LL Jr., University of Minnesota, Department of Entomology, Fisheries, and Wildlife, St. Paul, MN. 

Green FHY, Schurch S, De Sanctis GT, et al. 1991. Effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure on surface properties of lung surfactant. J Appl Physiol 70 1943-1949. 

Khan AA, Schuler MM, Prior MG, et al. 1990. Effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure on lung mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 103 482-490. 

Khan AA, Yong S, Prior MG, et al. 1991. Cytotoxic effects of hydrogen sulfide on pulmonary alveolar macrophages in rats. J Toxicol Environ Health 33 57-64. 

Maas FM, De Kok FJ, Kuiper PJC. 1985. The effect of hydrogen sulfide fumigation on various spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) cultivars Relation between growth inhibition and accumulation of sulphur compounds in the plant. Journal of Plant Physiology 119 219-226. 

Rogers RE, Ferin J. 1981. Effect of hydrogen sulfide on bacterial inactivation in the rat lung. Arch Environ Health 36 261-264. 

Voigt GE, Muller P. 1955. The histochemical effect of hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Acta Histochem... 

Morreale, B.D., M.V. Ciocco, B.H. Howard, R. Killmeyer, A.V. Cugini, and R.M. Enick, Effect of hydrogen sulfide on the hydrogen permeance of palladium-copper alloys at elevated temperatures, J. Membr. Sci., 241, 219-224, 2004. 

TABLE 4.5. Odor and Human Health-Related Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide in the Atmosphere (U.S. National Research Council, 1979 ASCE, 1989). 

Galea NM, Kadantsev ES, and Ziegler T. Studying reduction in solid oxide fuel cell activity with density functional theory-effects of hydrogen sulfide adsorption on nickel anode surface. JPhys Chem C 2007 111 14457-14468. 

One marked effect of a hydrodesulfurization process is the buildup of hydrogen sulfide and the continued presence of this reaction product in the reactor reduces the rate of hydrodesulfurization. Thus, using the two first-order models, the effect of hydrogen sulfide on the process can be represented as ... 

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