Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Very dizzy after melting sulfur - what happened?

Draeger - 29-7-2020 at 09:36

So, I just melted less than a gram of sulfur. It all went well, it didn't start burning or something. Suddenly I got very dizzy, so I stopped and left the room.

What was it? Could it have been hydrogen sulfide? I did smell rotten eggs faintly, but the smell didn't suddenly disappear.

Fyndium - 29-7-2020 at 09:38

As far as I know, you get numbed to hydrogen sulfide odor very quickly so there could be a possibility for that.
Quote:

0.00047 ppm or 0.47 ppb is the odor threshold, the point at which 50% of a human panel can detect the presence of an odor without being able to identify it.

At 100–150 ppm the olfactory nerve is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger.


[Edited on 29-7-2020 by Fyndium]

Draeger - 29-7-2020 at 09:42

Quote: Originally posted by Fyndium  
As far as I know, you get numbed to hydrogen sulfide odor very quickly so there could be a possibility for that.

I didn't get numbed, though, so I guess that means it was in a safe concentration?

Maybe it was just nocebo. I had thought of the possibility of dissolved H2S before I started, and once I smelt it my body might have just decided to hallucinate.

B(a)P - 29-7-2020 at 11:42

Quote: Originally posted by Draeger  

I didn't get numbed, though, so I guess that means it was in a safe concentration?


Could you smell hydrogen sulfide the whole time? How long did you feel you could smell it for? Dizziness is a symptom of exposure to hydrogen sulfide. Did you get any nausea, head ache, watery eyes or other symptoms? Any issues sleeping following the exposure? These are all symptoms of exposure, but they are usually experienced at concentrations orders of magnitude higher than what is perceived as a faint odour.

Draeger - 29-7-2020 at 12:07

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P  
Quote: Originally posted by Draeger  

I didn't get numbed, though, so I guess that means it was in a safe concentration?


Could you smell hydrogen sulfide the whole time? How long did you feel you could smell it for? Dizziness is a symptom of exposure to hydrogen sulfide. Did you get any nausea, head ache, watery eyes or other symptoms? Any issues sleeping following the exposure? These are all symptoms of exposure, but they are usually experienced at concentrations orders of magnitude higher than what is perceived as a faint odour.

I guess I did get exposed to a high amount then, since I had all of those symptoms. Weird is that I smelt it all the time, and it really wasn't strong, but noticeable. Can there really be so much H2S dissolved in sub-gram quantities?

Fyndium - 29-7-2020 at 12:09

It could also be a coincidence. I have experienced dizziness, headache and other common symptoms many times, but I doubt they never actually were caused by exposure to toxic fumes. I even got myself carbon monoxide meter when I used a large gas burner indoors, but it went off only once and that was when the gas burner choked because of me messing with it.

Sometimes I just forgot to eat and drink and I was working hours and hours in not-so-well ventilated area and standing and walking around all the time. The enthusiasm just takes over sometimes and it can manifest itself this way.

Draeger - 29-7-2020 at 12:38

Is there any H2S indicator I could make with the compounds in my signature?

B(a)P - 29-7-2020 at 13:24

Check out the copper sheet method
https://publiclab.org/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-detection

Draeger - 29-7-2020 at 13:59

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P  
Check out the copper sheet method
https://publiclab.org/wiki/hydrogen-sulfide-detection


I guess copper powder on a piece of tape would also work?

B(a)P - 29-7-2020 at 14:18

The effect might even be more pronounced with powdered copper. Certainly worth a try.

[Edited on 29-7-2020 by B(a)P]

OldNubbins - 29-7-2020 at 17:18

Quote: Originally posted by Draeger  

I didn't get numbed, though, so I guess that means it was in a safe concentration?


Not numbed as in a tingling numbness, numbed as in you don't smell it or, like you stated, doesn't seem as strong. If you experienced most of the stated symptoms, I'd say you were exposed to more than just a little.

outer_limits - 30-7-2020 at 00:26

H2S is very toxic. If you can smell it you never know what is the actual concentration. It's not like HCl gas when you run away coughing like hell and having running eyes.

unionised - 30-7-2020 at 02:16

Copper will burn in sulphur vapour, if you are heating sulphur some will evaporate, the copper will blacken whether there's hydrogen sulphide or not.

The traditional method for detecting H2S was paper dipped in lead acetate solution. Lead's toxic so this might not be readily available.
I wonder if
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismuth_subsalicylate
would do the same with less of a toxicity issue.
(It may well be equally toxic, but people are less scared of it)


Tsjerk - 30-7-2020 at 02:47

Lead is easily dissolved in acetic acid with a bit of H2O2. I guess for the purpose of acting as sulfide indicator a bit (or a lot) of tin wouldn't interfere, so 40/60 lead tin solder should work I guess.

But I wonder, why would sulfur be reduced to sulfide under oxidative conditions? Googling "sulfur dioxide dizziness" gives me 10 million hits.

B(a)P - 30-7-2020 at 02:56

Quote: Originally posted by Tsjerk  
Googling "sulfur dioxide dizziness" gives me 10 million hits.


What do you mean by this?

Tsjerk - 30-7-2020 at 03:35

I mean sulfur dioxide causes dizziness.

https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1759.pdf

Sulfur heated in atmosphere forms sulfur dioxide, not hydrogen sulfide.

outer_limits - 30-7-2020 at 03:46

Draeger mentioned a smell of rotten eggs, so it's quite characteristic for H2S

B(a)P - 30-7-2020 at 03:48

Surely the respiratory irritation would be noticed well before the dizziness though so SO2?

Herr Haber - 30-7-2020 at 06:49

Quote: Originally posted by Tsjerk  


But I wonder, why would sulfur be reduced to sulfide under oxidative conditions? Googling "sulfur dioxide dizziness" gives me 10 million hits.


YES !
Draeger, did your nose at some point tingle ? Just as if you were about to sneeze ?

That could be the hint of some of your sulfur burning and your dizziness.
But even then, this is a very small quantity you were melting and it would have actually started to burn before there could be any "dangerous" amount of SO2.
I dont know the word "nocebo" you used but if it means it was mostly in your head yes, I agree.

Melting sulphur is fun. I have very good memories of pouring it in water, making beads etc.

You dont really need to do this inside though.
I probably used an alcohol lamp. With a candle too much soot can contaminate your sulphur.

pneumatician - 10-1-2021 at 16:04

Quote: Originally posted by Draeger  
So, I just melted less than a gram of sulfur. It all went well, it didn't start burning or something. Suddenly I got very dizzy, so I stopped and left the room.

What was it? Could it have been hydrogen sulfide? I did smell rotten eggs faintly, but the smell didn't suddenly disappear.


at what temp you melted the sulfur?, at the lower temp or the high temp?

less than a gram? paranoia or you are ready to dizz, or you are very sensitive to H2S???...

I love H2S smell! I always sniff a lot!!! :DDD and I feel very good!!!

parroting always the same again and again is very ridicoulos, no?

http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/article00858.html

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/why-does-the-universe-smell...

of course!!! H2S is VERY DANGEUROUS for people brainwashed!!! so never play with Sulfur!!!

No matter what Paracels say about dose and etc, etc, etc!!! :-D

woelen - 11-1-2021 at 01:42

Melting sulfur does not produce H2S. I have melted sulfur myself many times, and not just a single gram, more like 10 grams or so. The melting sulfur has a certain (albeit weak) smell, but it is not the smell of H2S. It really is a 'sulfurous' smell. I do not find it bad like the smell of H2S. I never had issues with melting sulfur.

If you ignite the sulfur, then it burns with a small blue flame with low light output. The gas coming from that is really choking, it is SO2 with a tiny fraction of SO3. SO2 has very good warning properties. It is unbearable, even at low concentration, and you really want to leave the room before it becomes dangerous. SO2 has a smell, which differs a lot from the smell of H2S, it is much more pungent, and that is the reason why it has much better warning properties than H2S.

So, I really wonder what is the cause of your dizzyness. Is your sulfur impure? I also am inclined to think that you had another issue, such as having low sugar level in the blood, anxiety.

artemov - 11-1-2021 at 05:49

I find the smell of burning sulfur very different to that of metabisulfite ... the latter makes me sick to the core ...

[Edited on 11-1-2021 by artemov]

pneumatician - 11-1-2021 at 14:50

This salt have a lot of H2S

bamboo salt

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27315400/

the dose is the key.

because the taste is very nasty in salats & etc, I put in capsules.

[Edited on 11-1-2021 by pneumatician]

egret - 12-1-2021 at 01:29

The H2S can be generated by heating sulphur with parafin. Maybe some organic impurities in sulphur or your glassware generated H2S when you melted sulphur?