Context: A gas leak at Sainor Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, in Visakhapatnam has claimed two lives and injured four people.
Key Points

• Hydrogen sulphide vapours leaked from the reactor of a pharmaceutical company’s plant.
• According to the Commissioner of Police, the leak has been brought under control.
• This is the second incident in the Sainor Life Sciences plant since it began operations at JNPC.
• In September 2015, two workers were charred to death and five others injured in a reactor blast.
• Cases were booked against the company and it was allowed to resume operations only after the management paid a hefty fine.
• There have been about 40 industrial accidents in Visakhapatnam district, over 20 in pharma and chemical units alone, since 1997. About 130 lives have been lost and hundreds injured.

About Hydrogen Sulfide

• Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a colourless chalcogen hydride gas with a characteristic foul odour.
• It is very poisonous, corrosive, and flammable.
• The gas can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.
• Too much H2S can halt the breathing centre in the brain, which can cause death.
• It dissolves in water and oil, and it may be released when these liquids are heated, depressurized, or agitated. Because it is heavier than air, it may settle in low spots.
• It occurs in volcanic gases, natural gas, and in some sources of well water.

Uses

• Hydrogen sulfide is used primarily to produce sulfuric acid and sulfur.
• It is also used to create a variety of inorganic sulfides used to create pesticides, leather, dyes, and pharmaceuticals.
• Hydrogen sulfide is used to produce heavy water for nuclear power plants.