Suicide by hydrogen sulfide: how can emergency services respond?

Lin, Qiao (2014) Suicide by hydrogen sulfide: how can emergency services respond? Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.

	Microsoft Word Submitted Version Available under License : See the attached license file. Download (513kB)
	Plain Text (licence) Available under License : See the attached license file. Download (1kB)

Abstract

Suicide has always been a significant public health issue in the world. Compared to some traditional exclusively self-targeting suicide methods, such as suffocating, hanging, jumping from heights and poisoning, suicide by inhaling the toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas should be deemed as a threat to both environmental and occupational health for the following reasons: 1. Due to gaseous diffusion, this toxic gas may seep into adjacent rooms and residential units, poisoning their occupants. 2. First responders may not realize that the room or car they are about to enter is full of fatal gas so that they could accidentally become intoxicated if they are trying to rescue the suicides without proper protection. Since the suicide materials are easy to obtain, it has become a fad since 2008 worldwide. There is already a trend towards increasing numbers of hydrogen sulfide cases in the United States. Several emergency service providers were injured secondarily at the suicide scene due to the lack of awareness. Hydrogen sulfide exposure may lead to many acute and chronic occupational diseases such as: pulmonary disease, neurological disease, and cardiac disease. Based on recent studies regarding this topic, we suggest that online suicide recipes should be removed; a nationwide suicide monitoring system should be established in order to stimulate relevant analysis and research. Most importantly, we need to raise awareness among emergency service providers in order to promote occupational health.

---

Share

Citation/Export:	Select format... Citation - Text Citation - HTML Endnote BibTex Dublin Core OpenURL MARC (ISO 2709) METS MODS EP3 XML Reference Manager Refer
Social Networking:	Share |

---

Details

Item Type:	Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper (Master Essay)
Status:	Unpublished
Creators/Authors:	Creators Email Pitt Username ORCID Lin, Qiao qil29@pitt.edu QIL29
Contributors:	Contribution Contributors Name Email Pitt Username ORCID Committee Chair Peterson, Jim jimmyp@pitt.edu JIMMYP UNSPECIFIED Committee Member Liang, Xu xuliang@pitt.edu XULIANG UNSPECIFIED
Date:	25 April 2014
Date Type:	Publication
Access Restriction:	No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh
Institution:	University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs:	School of Public Health > Environmental and Occupational Health
Degree:	MPH - Master of Public Health
Thesis Type:	Master Essay
Refereed:	Yes
Date Deposited:	28 May 2015 14:51
Last Modified:	30 Mar 2022 11:56
URI:	http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21486

---

Metrics

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

---

Actions (login required)

View Item