In 2018, HazSim welcomed Odessa College in Odessa, Texas, USA to their growing list of teams training the HazSim way. Recently, instructors from their site were featured in an article by the Odessa American detailing some of the great training they are providing in the gas detection sector. The article follows Dean McCann, a former Odessa Police officer, who now teaches oilfield safety at Odessa College.
Dean McCann, also a former employee of the famed Boots & Coots, explains some of the potential dangers in the lethal Hydrogen Sulfide gas found in the oilfield and other industries.
Detecting lethal Hydrogen Sulfide gas
Most average people can detect 13 one-hundredths of only 1 part per million of H2S"
Dean McCann said, “Most average people can detect 13 one-hundredths of only 1 part per million of H2S. On the average, that’s not much. You could live and work in it every day for 30 years and it would never hurt you that low. But you’re going to be able to smell it. You’re going to know what you’re working in.”
Instructor Dean McCann also goes on to explain how he feels many people don’t truly grasp the full magnitude of just how dangerous H2S can be.
Harmful effects
Dean McCann adds, “People honestly don’t understand how bad that H2S can be. A lot of companies are strict. One of the strictest is Chevron. Companies now have very strict hiring policies. You don’t want to be known as the company that has the lowest safety record. Companies that didn’t have such good records, they’re responding because people won’t call them. If they don’t call them, they won’t get work. They don’t get work, they don’t make money. They don’t make money, they’re out of business or they sell out to somebody else.”
Major kudos to Instructor Dean McCann and Odessa College for staying on top of new training trends and providing their students with the best teaching environment possible!