Total Refinery gas leak incident highlights importance of personal gas monitors

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In the recent H2S gas leak at the Total refinery in Texas, contract workers were not wearing personal toxic gas monitors. There could easily have been fatalities in the incident, were it not for the alertness of some of the contract workers, who recognized the smell of Hydrogen Sulfide ( a highly toxic gas that smells somewhat like rotten eggs) and evacuated their workplaces, on their own, say news reports (Beaumont).
One of the workers was reportedly up 50 feet in the air working on a scaffolding, when he could smell the gas and clambered down, holding his breath. Apparently he was not provided any personal H2S gas monitors. Modern pocket sized gas monitors help protect workers in case of such gas leaks in the surroundings. These are available for H2S as well as for other commonly found (in industry) toxic gases like Chlorine. Even low levels of the gas trigger audio visual alarms that alert the worker to evacuate to safety. In this respect H2S gas is more dangerous because as the concentration of the gas increases, the human nose becomes desensitized and stops smelling the gas. The person usually thinks that danger has receded, when in fact it has increased. This can be easily detected by the gas monitor.
It is surprising that even large multinational companies that operate in North America (not in some forgotten third world country) can be so less equipped with these not too expensive detectors.
Investigations are still continuing into the incident. Watch this space for more information.