# Sick from gas??



## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

I had someone tell me they went to the hospital and blamed it on a leaking sewer line. They said the sewer gas made them sick.

I never heard of anyone getting sick from it. They live in a trailer park ( A real dump) and yeh, not the best place to stay, but I have been there myself and I never even smelled sewer gas there. 

Anyone ever hear of anyone getting sick from sewer gas?

Me thinks its an attempt at a law suit!


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

How do they know it was sewer gas?


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Was she huffin on a C/O? That makes me sick thinking about it.


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## ILPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

Anytime we do work in a medical facility. Whether it's PVC primer and cement or solder flux or SLIGHT sewer smell employees start having headaches and nausea. They just want the day off.

It get's very tiring dealing with these morons. It happpens EVERY time...


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## Plasticman (Oct 14, 2008)

Ever heard of a sick building? It happens.


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## ROCKSTARPLUMBER (Dec 14, 2008)

I lit a fart on fire once. i should do that the next time I am in a hospital. Maybe the whole staff would want the day off?


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Matt said:


> Anytime we do work in a medical facility. Whether it's PVC primer and cement or solder flux or SLIGHT sewer smell employees start having headaches and nausea. They just want the day off.
> 
> It get's very tiring dealing with these morons. It happpens EVERY time...


A co-worker of mine about 10 years ago was cleaning up after clearing a drain in a hospital with Simple Green. It was like a haz-mat alarm went off the way everyone reacted to the "fumes".







Paul


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

Sewer gas can be deadly in the right concentrations.

Mark


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*You Have Grown A Tolerance To It...*

I think most people are a bunch of wussies and would pass out from a fart in an elevator....

being around it every day like most plumbers are, we have 
grown a strong tolerance to it....

depending on where they are on the city sewer system
it can get very nasty....

but I bet that they are still probably just trying to sue someone..


thank god President Obama is going to have free health care
for cases like this one...
..


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

It is all in someones head. We all know how powerful the mind is, and when someone gets the idea they are getting sick, there is nothing to stop it but them. That is not to say that certain individuals react different to smells. I am sure that we all know how sensitive woman are to smells. 
Now, did that person get that sick off of a sewer smell, doubtful. As Glenn Beck has said "Lawsuits are the real American Lottery."


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## PLUMBER_BILL (Oct 23, 2009)

Bill said:


> I had someone tell me they went to the hospital and blamed it on a leaking sewer line. They said the sewer gas made them sick.I never heard of anyone getting sick from it. They live in a trailer park ( A real dump) and yeh, not the best place to stay, but I have been there myself and I never even smelled sewer gas there. Anyone ever hear of anyone getting sick from sewer gas? Me thinks its an attempt at a law suit!


 

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/hydrogensulfide.htm

As I posted before ... House traps along with the fresh air inlet minimize
sewer gas in a building. Lose a trap seal without the above and you can fill a house with gas pretty quick. IMHO


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## plumbpro (Mar 10, 2010)

ToUtahNow said:


> Sewer gas can be deadly in the right concentrations.
> 
> Mark


Methane gas is deadly in a concentrated area, and will kill you before you even realize there is a problem. My bosses brother went in an attic because the HO was complaining of a sewer smell. He went up and came down through the ceiling in just a few minutes. Methan knocked him out and if he hadn't fallen through the ceiling, he would have died. With that said, 
In a dumpy trailer park, I doubt there would be anywhere airtight enough for methane to collect, and if it did they would probrably just die. I have had to track down leaks in old cast Iron vents before, and you could smell a faint smell of sewer gas in the house. The HO didn't get sick, just irritated by the smell.


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## Mongrel (Mar 4, 2010)

I'm trying to understand how on a professional plumbing forum there is actually a question regarding the dangers of "sewer gas" (methane)...

:blink:

Hats off to those who rightly and correctly pointed out the inherant dangers of methane.

NOTE: Use of the term "methane" in the above sentences is in the 'generic tense' including but not limited to hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and all the other commonly found gases both dangerous and non-dangerous that are found in what is most often referred to as "sewer gas". We now return you to your regularly scheduled FR vs. TM thread....


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Methane????


I thought it was hydrogen sulfide that was so dangerous?:whistling2:


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## Flyin Brian (Aug 22, 2009)

Plasticman said:


> Ever heard of a sick building? It happens.


yes plasticman,those "sick buildings" are usually mold related
and yes you can get sick from sewer gas if you are around it long enough


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

Depending on the makeup of sewer gas you can die within minutes. Sewer gas can include hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxides. Not all of the above will kill you but unless you know the makeup of the gas and the quantities it could be extremely dangerous. They make H2S detectors for people in confine spaces because of the danger. 

The City of Henderson, Nevada lost two employees a few years back while working in a sewer. The guy in the hole got in trouble and his buddy went in after him. Within minutes they were both dead and the third guy who tried to help had to be pulled to safety.

Mark


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

By the way, I spent some time last week looking for a H2S detector with remote monitoring for a project which is coming up. The one I am looking at is $3,000 without the calibration kit. If all you are looking for is methane you can use a tif as long as the concentration is greater than 500 ppm.

Mark


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

When I was going in and out of Iraq it was through Kuwait. The whole country smells like a huge turd. Open C/O in the floors of all the RR I was in. I guess the constant 30 mph wind keeps the concentrations low.


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## iwrs (Apr 25, 2010)

Wow, my first thread I read and Im kinda bummed at some of the responses.

Sewer gas filling a home or residence, (depending on the situation or amount) can kill a young baby and even young child in a very short time, less than a day. The size of a newborns lungs compared to the size of ours is significantly smaller (obviously), and just the right amount can kill them within hours.

I got a call this year from a friend telling me his sister was smelling sewer odor in her house. I went out, took one step in to the house and it hit me hard. I had her take her 3 month old and 11 year old to her parents house. Its just not safe, and I hope most of you are not taking it lightrly. Wasnt a trap seal, wax ring, turns out her wasteline was cracked in her crawl, underground, and was backing up sewage into the crawl. The crawlspace opening was in the same room the new born slept. Sary stuff.

Sewer gas should never be taken lightly, it is dangerous, and while we are used to the odor as plumbers, it still doesnt make it ok for us.


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## kentdmo (Dec 15, 2008)

Mongrel said:


> I'm trying to understand how on a professional plumbing forum there is actually a question regarding the dangers of "sewer gas" (methane)...
> 
> :blink:
> 
> ...


Now thats funny :thumbup:


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Before They Put Holes In The Top Of Man Hole Covers Thousands Died From Sewer Gasses Entering There Homes When Heavy Rain Raised Sewer Levels Pushing Gasses Thru The House Trap And Into Homes (1880's Brooklyn) 

Know Your Plumbing History!!!


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## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

Well, this was about a line leaking under a trailer. They claimed they got sick from it, but with those rat hole trailers we have here there is no way that any gas can build up to a dangerous level. You can hardly keep the rodents out and the pipes from freezing. This had to have been in minute quantities. I can and do under stand if the gas was built up in an air tight space, but come on peeps, this is a rat and roach infested trailer park. Every time I have to get under one I rarley need a drop light:laughing:

Me thinks someone is trying for a law suit!


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Why didn't it just go out the VTR's?



BROOKLYN\PLUMB said:


> Before They Put Holes In The Top Of Man Hole Covers Thousands Died From Sewer Gasses Entering There Homes When Heavy Rain Raised Sewer Levels Pushing Gasses Thru The House Trap And Into Homes (1880's Brooklyn)
> 
> Know Your Plumbing History!!!


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

In March 2003 an outbreak of SARS at the Amoy Gardens Apartments in Hong Cong was traced to dried out p-traps...


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

VTR's DON'T MEAN TO BE IGNANT BUT ?

CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE DIPHTHERIA IN BROOKLYN.; SIX HUNDRED CASES IN A MONTH--DEFECTIVE PLUMB... - Article Preview - The New York Times 
AND FINE MAYBE I EXAGGERATED SLIGHTLY


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

VTR = vent thru roof



BROOKLYN\PLUMB said:


> VTR's DON'T MEAN TO BE IGNANT BUT ?
> 
> CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE DIPHTHERIA IN BROOKLYN.; SIX HUNDRED CASES IN A MONTH--DEFECTIVE PLUMB... - Article Preview - The New York Times
> AND FINE MAYBE I EXAGGERATED SLIGHTLY


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Thanks Wasn't Familiar With That Acronym Do Know What A Vent Through The Roof Is  NOT SURE WHEN IT BECAME CODE I WILL LOOK INTO IT BUT I KNOW OLD STRUCTURES DIDN'T HAVE ANY VTR'S


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Looks Like 1874 Became Misdemeanor Not To Install Vtr's In Nyc On New Construction THE SEWER-GAS DANGER; AN INVISIBLE ENEMY IN OUR HO... - View Article - The New York Times


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## ThePlumber657 (May 26, 2010)

I agree with "UTAH". In the right concentrations it could make you sick. But it would have to be alot. Excrement does produce methane as it decomposes, and really isn't nice. I would think that a queasy stomach would be the worst, maybe a little vomiting if the individual is "Sensitive" to the smell. But I would have to say that it would take a VERY long time to get "SICK" from it, and really they can't blame you.


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## njoy plumbing (May 19, 2009)

iwrs said:


> Wow, my first thread I read and Im kinda bummed at some of the responses.
> 
> Sewer gas filling a home or residence, (depending on the situation or amount) can kill a young baby and even young child in a very short time, less than a day. The size of a newborns lungs compared to the size of ours is significantly smaller (obviously), and just the right amount can kill them within hours.
> 
> ...


 Thanks for your input but an intro is required here please.


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## ThePlumber657 (May 26, 2010)

But again we go back to the concentrations...... It takes alot to get a build-up of those gasses, and alot longer for it to decompose to the point of producing those byproducts. The only area where you would get that, would be at a sewage treatment plant in the "Solids" area. "Grey Water" doesn't produce it. Even if it were on a "Sewer Main" I have a hard time believing that. Maybe if it were an old school Septic System........... but it would have to be under the "Perfect" conditions, and have a huge anarobic response.........


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

njoy plumbing said:


> Thanks for your input but an intro is required here please.


He only made one post a month ago and three weeks ago was his last visit. I'm not sure he is coming back.

Mark


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## retired rooter (Dec 31, 2008)

I used to service a shoneys that always had a horrible smell. After a night out, the wife and I drove by the place about 2 or 3 in the morning(this was approx 20 to 25 yrs ago) I spotted a septic truck with hoses going in front door and I knew grease traps were out back!I couldnt resist stopping to check out what was going on. They were pumping out the hvac vents !! the floor drains under the serving line were all rotted out and leaking into the vents.The septic co had been doing this for at least 2 months .They finally closed for a couple of weeks and fixed it. I have often wondered how many lawsuits they got ?Prob none cause the folks that it really bothered just walked out.


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## plumbergary (May 30, 2010)

*Poop gas gets you high*

saw this maybee they were huffing


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