Proposed ASTM International Standard Will Detect Hydrogen Sulfide Gas in Workplace Air

A proposed ASTM International standard will protect worker’s health by monitoring the levels of hydrogen sulfide gas in workplace air. The proposed standard (WK59402, Test Methods for Measurement of Hydrogen Sulfide in Workplace Air by Direct-Reading Electrochemical Detectors) is being developed by the ASTM International committee on air quality (D22).

The proposed standard will use direct-reading electrochemical detectors to identify whether the concentration of hydrogen sulfide gas exceeds the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) or other limits.

“These detectors are designed so that the current value change in the sensor is related to the concentration of hydrogen sulfide under conditions of sampling speed specified by the manufacturer,” says ASTM International member Wei Xinming, of Qingdao Safety Engineering Institute, SINOPEC, in Qingdao, China. “Workers will find this standard useful; it will help them protect their occupational health when they work in the air that may contain hydrogen sulfide.”

Xinming also says that occupational health protection agencies, regulatory bodies, and technical service organizations would find this standard useful because it will help them identify air quality at the job site.

The committee encourages representatives to participate in the future development of the standard and other activities related to the subcommittee/task group.

ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN. The next meeting of ASTM International committee on air quality (D22) is October 8, 2017, to October 11, 2017, Sheraton New Orleans; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.