Guidotti T L
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1994;66(3):153-60. doi: 10.1007/BF00380773.
Occupational exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and the medical management of H2S-associated toxicity remains a problem in the sour gas industry and some other industrial settings. The acute effects of exposure to H2S are well recognized, but accurate exposure-response data are limited to acutely lethal effects, even in animal studies. Odor followed by olfactory paralysis and keratoconjunctivitis are the characteristics effects of H2S at lower concentrations. H2S-induced acute central toxicity leading to reversible unconsciousness is a "knockdown"; it is controversial whether repeated or prolonged knockdowns are associated with chronic neurologic sequelae but the evidence is suggestive. Knockdowns can be acutely fatal as a consequence of respiratory paralysis and cellular anoxia. Pulmonary edema is also a well-recognized acute effect of H2S toxicity. Human studies of sublethal exposure with satisfactory exposure assessment are almost nonexistent. There are indications, poorly documented at present, of other chronic health problems associated with H2S exposure, including neurotoxicity, cardiac arrhythmia, and chronic eye irritation but apparently not cancer. Rigorous and comprehensive studies in the sour gas industry are difficult, in part because of confounding exposures and uncertain end points.
在含硫天然气行业和其他一些工业环境中，职业性接触硫化氢（H₂S）以及对硫化氢相关中毒的医学处理仍是一个问题。接触硫化氢的急性影响已广为人知，但即使在动物研究中，准确的暴露-反应数据也仅限于急性致死效应。低浓度硫化氢的特征性影响是先有气味，随后出现嗅觉麻痹和角结膜炎。硫化氢引起的急性中枢毒性导致可逆性昏迷属于“击倒”现象；反复或长时间的“击倒”是否与慢性神经后遗症有关存在争议，但有证据表明存在这种关联。“击倒”可能因呼吸麻痹和细胞缺氧而急性致命。肺水肿也是硫化氢中毒公认的急性影响。几乎不存在对亚致死性暴露进行了满意暴露评估的人体研究。目前有迹象表明，与硫化氢暴露相关的其他慢性健康问题包括神经毒性、心律失常和慢性眼部刺激，但显然不包括癌症。在含硫天然气行业进行严格而全面的研究很困难，部分原因是存在混杂暴露和不确定的终点。
