3.2. Case 2
A chicken waste rendering plant had a blocked condenser connected to a storage vessel. On releasing the blockage, an emission of gas (suspected to contain hydrogen sulphide) was released knocking three workers unconscious. All three workers were taken to hospital, two were subsequently released and one spent time in intensive care before being released. Blood samples were obtained from two of the workers (both male, ages unknown) but were not detectable for thiosulphate. This is in agreement with previous reports where blood thiosulphate is not detected in survivors of hydrogen sulphide incidents. Unfortunately, in this case, it was not possible to obtain urine samples. Samples of the chicken waste showed considerable potential for hydrogen sulphide generation at the sterilising temperature used (∼120 °C).