Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S): Recognition, Exposure Assessment, and Control

Hydrogen sulfide remains one of the leading causes of toxic inhalation fatalities in occupational settings, creating serious risks for workers, rescuers, and OEHS professionals responsible for prevention and response. This webinar will examine where hydrogen sulfide may be generated, why sudden high-concentration exposures can incapacitate individuals within seconds, and how effective controls can reduce the likelihood of catastrophic incidents.

Participants will gain practical insight into designing and monitoring ventilation strategies, permit systems, alarm points, respiratory protection requirements, and emergency procedures for both routine operations and incident response. We will also address how to interpret and reconcile multiple exposure limits, including OSHA, NIOSH, ACGIH, and IDLH values, so practitioners can make informed decisions in the field.

Special attention will be given to detection limitations, health effects, and non-routine tasks such as line-breaking and tank entry, where risk can be underestimated even by experienced professionals. By strengthening their understanding of hydrogen sulfide hazards and controls, OEHS professionals will be better prepared to recognize dangerous conditions, prevent high-exposure events, and protect both workers and emergency responders.

Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to:  

1. Describe key physical and toxicological characteristics of hydrogen sulfide that affect detection and risk.
2. Identify common industrial processes and tasks that can generate hazardous hydrogen sulfide concentrations.
3. Interpret major occupational exposure limits (OSHA, NIOSH, ACGIH) and IDLH values for hydrogen sulfide.
4. Evaluate health effects at different hydrogen sulfide concentration ranges
5. Select and justify appropriate monitoring, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE for hydrogen sulfide work.

Lecturer

Kent A. Candee, MS, CIH, CSP, ARM, CPCU

Instructor

Mr. Candee has a bachelor’s in Chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master’s in Industrial Hygiene from Montana Tech. He has over 30 years of experience, both as a technician while serving in the United States Air Force as a Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician and professionally. His professional career has included performing consulting and analytical laboratory analysis, and performing loss control services for an insurance company. Kent is currently at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he leads the Occupational Safety and Health – Industrial Safety and Hygiene, Industrial Hygiene Team in developing procedures, policies, and guidance documents for exposure and risk assessments, silica, chemical safety, indoor air quality, hearing conservation, noise evaluations, oxygen deficiency hazards, biological hazards, respiratory protection, personal protective equipment, ventilation, and monitoring equipment. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, and obtained the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designations.

Credit

This course contains 1 hours of instruction. 0.1 CEUs are offered for this course.

As an IACET Accredited Provider, Bowen Learning Network offers CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standard.

Eligible for contact hours with the BGC, BCSP, IHMM, and other OEHS certifying agencies.

For more details on certification and recertification credit, please visit How many points/credits/hours is a course worth?

Completion Requirements

To receive a Certificate of Completion for this course, participants are required to complete the following items:

1. Participate in the live webinar or review the on-demand webinar recording.
2. Score 70% or higher on the quiz.
3. Complete the webinar evaluation.

No certificate will be awarded to participants who do not meet the above completion requirements.

Computer Requirements

The Bowen Learning Network online virtual classrooms are powered by BigBlueButton. It fully supports the Windows, Mac OS X, and Chromebook platforms (see below for versions supported). Support is available for iOS (iPads) and Android Tablets. While smart phones can be used, the screens are too small to display all of the aspects of the Virtual Classroom.  For the best online learning experience, the use of a device with a larger screen is HIGHLY recommended. A physical keyboard is also recommended.

See how the Virtual Classroom works: