1. HAZMAT REFRESHER CHEMICAL SUICIDE
BOONE COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
HAZMAT
REFRESHER
CHEMICAL SUICIDE

3. Purpose
Provide firefighters with a guideline for identifying key components of a chemical suicide and then tools to handle those incidents

4. 32B03 – MAN DOWN UNK PROBLEM 60D4O – GAS ODOR INSIDE
Not just your “typical” Emergency:
32B03 – MAN DOWN UNK PROBLEM
60D4O – GAS ODOR INSIDE

5. USE CAUTION

6. BE ON YOUR TOES Unconscious Individuals
Tape over vents, doors, and windows
Suicide Note
Posted Warning to First Responders of Present Danger
Chemical containers in and around the vehicle or room
Smell of Rotten Eggs

7. H2S Common Name: HYDROGEN SULFIDE DOT Number: UN 1053 NAERG Code: 117
CAS Number:
Hazard rating: NJDHSS NFPA
FLAMMABILITY: - 4
REACTIVITY: - 0
FLAMMABLE -EXPLOSIVE
Hydrogen Sulfide is a colorless gas
Soluble in water

8. Chemicals Used Bonide Sulfur Spray- Insecticide
Include but NOT limited to:
Bonide Sulfur Spray- Insecticide
Hydrochloric (Muriatic) Acid (Pool Chemical)
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Laundry Detergent

9. Mechanism of Action How it works
Naturally Produced in the Body
Acts as an irritant and chemical asphyxiant
Acts as a relaxant of smooth muscle---Vasodilator
Mitochondrial Poison (Similar to Cyanide)
Prevents oxygen transport by binding with hemoglobin in red blood cells
Once in the body it is rapidly distributed to various organs
CNS, Lungs, Liver, etc.
High values present in people who have:
Alzheimer’s Disease
Down Syndrome
Type 1 Diabetes
Most Dangerous aspect of hydrogen sulfide is the result of Olfactory Accommodation
This means that the individual can accommodate the odor and is not able to detect the presence of the chemical after a short period of time
Happens to people exposed to 150 ppm or greater
Lungs show “hydrogen sulfide intoxication” and major prolonged lung damage
Lungs are from a 45 year old male found unconscious in a storage tank of salted radish and rice

10. IDLH 100 ppm Interventions Set Parameters EMS 700 ppm 1 breath = DEATH
Establish a HOT zone
100 meters minimum
Emergency Decon?
EMS
High Flow 02
H2S acts like Cyanide poisoning and binds with hemoglobin
Unconscious and death has been recorded following prolonged exposure of 50 ppm
IDLH 100 ppm
700 ppm 1 breath = DEATH

11. What’s that Smell? 0.13 ppm Plant and Animal Breakdown Swamps / Bogs
Hot Springs
Waste Disposal
Sewers
Paper Manufacturers
0.13 ppm
These smells are noticeable at 0.13 ppm or less.

12. Sugar Creek, MO Dec. 22, 2009
A man used hydrogen cyanide chemicals to kill himself in a confined pickup truck.
Four responders and a family member were exposed to the toxic gases from inside the vehicle.
All five were just taken to the hospital as a precaution.
No warning note was found on the truck.
The man worked in a lab and had access to cyanide.
Two containers were found in the truck
Close to Home