Tag Archives: Hydrogen Sulfide

Geothermal

Why County Council Shouldn’t Override the County Bill 256 Veto

5 Comments

Richard Ha writes: 

I'd like to share with you a letter to the editor I submitted to the local newspapers. It's about the recent County Bill 256. I wrote about it here. The bill passed, but then was vetoed by Mayor Billy Kenoi. Tomorrow the Council meets and will discuss trying to override the veto.

I wrote this letter because I think it's very important to have a solid base of facts to start off with. We need to give ourselves some time to really think about these issues, in order to make good decisions.

I remember so clearly what Kumu Lehua Veincent told me early on. He said, "What about the rest?" And that's what I think is so important here. Oil prices are rising, and there are plenty of people just barely getting by with high electricity rates and other, related, rising costs. We need to worry about the rest.

Dear Editor,

I feel strongly that the County Council should not override the Mayor’s recent veto of geothermal bills before we understand the issues better.

Even the homeowners’ association in Leilani Estates, a subdivision near Puna Geothermal Venture, supports the Mayor’s veto. We agree we must take a systematic and scientific look at the situation before making far-reaching decisions.

Did you know?

No scientific study done anywhere in the world, ever, has shown that hydrogen sulfide levels such as exist in Puna produce the negative effects anecdotally claimed by some.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) comes primarily from chemical and bacterial action in the earth. Bacteria even produces hydrogen sulfide in the human gut.

In Hawai‘i, we monitor for two different levels of H2S. 

1) The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) regulates H2S at "nuisance levels,” which is defined as what one can smell. The human nose can pick up the H2S smell at about 5 parts per billion. 

2) The Office of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulates H2S "safety levels." According to OSHA, it’s safe for workers to spend 40 hours per week around H2S when levels are at or below 10,000 parts per billion. This is far, far below levels considered unsafe (which are measured in parts per million, not billion) 

Some other facts:

• Many millions of people around the world spend their vacation time and money on health spas and onsens that use water heated via geothermal action. During these vacations for health and well being, they are exposed to levels of H2S much higher than Puna residents have experienced in 99.99 percent of their time in Puna.

• Ambient levels of H2S in residential Rotorua, New Zealand, are routinely 100 to 1000 times higher than the level our DOH regulates for.

• In personally observing Iceland and the Philippines’ geothermal operations, I was interested to note that Hawai‘i is much, much stricter about regulating hydrogen sulfide.

• Even the “blowout” at PGV that happened some years ago was within OSHA’s safety levels. OSHA’s permitted H2S exposure – up to 10,000 parts per billion for eight hour days, five days a week – is the equivalent of 2800 ppb continuously over 24 hours, indefinitely, and this is about what was detected at the perimeter of PGV during the "blowout." The long-term, ambient H2S average in Puna, near the geothermal facility, is closer to 2 ppb. 

• The Hawaii State DOH has said that there are no health issues related to emissions of H2S at PGV.

We need to base our decisions and laws on the facts, not unsubstantiated fears.

Richard Ha
Hamakua Springs Country Farms

Geothermal

County Bill 256 is Premature

2 Comments

Richard Ha writes:

I testified against County Bill 256, draft 2, which alters the geothermal royalty funded-Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits program, takes away community benefits, and creates a one-mile “buffer zone” around the Puna Geothermal Venture plant.

It passed, though. Now it is up to the Mayor to sign it or not.

This bill is premature. I don’t believe we have come to grips with the facts about the true nature of hydrogen sulfide, and what its dangers are or are not. We need to take a step back and evaluate the issue more thoroughly.

Hawai‘i’s Department of Health (DOH) regulates H2S at “nuisance levels,” which are defined as “what you can smell.” The human nose can pick up the H2S scent at 5 parts per billion or so.

The Office of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulates Hydrogen Sulfide to “safety levels,” which they define as 10,000 parts per billion. At this level, workers are allowed to work for 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week.

Here are some things to consider:

1) Around the world, several million people every year choose to go to health spas/onsens, where they are exposed to much higher levels of H2S than any member of the public has been exposed to for 99.99% of the time in Puna.

2) Ambient levels of H2S in downtown Rotorua, New Zealand, are routinely 100 times to 1000 times higher than the levels Hawai‘i’s DOH regulates for.

3)  OSHA allows H2S exposure as high as 10,000 parts per billion for eight hour days, five days a week. That’s the equivalent of 2800 ppb continuously over 24 hours, indefinitely. Whereas the long-term, ambient H2S average in Puna, near the geothermal facility, is closer to 2 ppb.

4)  No study done anywhere, ever, has shown that Puna’s exposure levels have ever produced the negative effects that are antecdotally claimed.

5) I’ve been to Iceland and to the Phillipines to see their geothermal operations, and have learned that Hawaii is much, much stricter about regulating Hydrogen Sulfide than those countries are.

Here is the testimony I submitted against County Bill 256, draft 2:

Aloha Chair Yagong:

I recommend that the council vote no to Bill 256, Draft 2 affecting Puna homeowners. Take the time to truly understand the issue. It needs to be scientifically based. The Leilani Estate Board is against this bill. 

The Dept. of Health regulates to a much higher standard than Iceland or the Phillipines. We do not allow open venting.

The Dept. of Health says that there are no health safety issues with PGV. It regulates to “nuisance” standards. This standard is an order of magnitude greater than “health safety” standards. 

H2S generally results from two main sources–organic material from bacterial action and chemically from interaction of magmatic material. Tens of thousands of oil and gas wells on the mainland deal with H2S everyday.

The bacteria that generates H2S also  live in the gut of humans. The human nose can pick up H2S to 5 parts per billion–the same level that the Dept of Health regulates to. 

There have been testimony that people have become dizzy and disoriented and that animals have been affected. But, at levels this low, it is difficult to identify exactly where the H2S originated. I believe that we need to take a step back and look at this very methodically.

Sincerely,

Richard Ha
Hamakua Springs

Geothermal, Iceland

Icelandics Treat Hydrogen Sulfide Gas With Respect

When I went to Iceland, I sat in the Blue Lagoon for several hours.

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The Blue Lagoon (Icelandic: “Bláa lónið”) geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The steamy waters are part of a lava formation….

The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 37–39 °C (98–102 °F). The Blue Lagoon also operates a Research and Development facility to help find cures for other skin ailments using the mineral-rich water.

The lagoon is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every 2 days. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal hot water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in. (from Wikipedia)

The geothermal plant was close by with steam (H2S?) plumes going into the air. Iceland and the Phillipines allows some direct venting into the atmosphere Hawaii does not.

To understand the distance, here’s a comparison. If the Blue Lagoon was KTA Pu‘ainako, the geothermal plant was approximately as far away as the Prince Kuhio Shopping Center, maybe a quarter of a mile.

Iceland has one of the highest voting rates in the world – in the high 80 percent. They are also some of the most educated people in the world.

The water was from the geothermal plant and tasted a little salty. It flowed through continuously and I could open my eyes underwater. It smelled slightly of sulfur.

Farmers understand that “the dose makes the poison.” For instance, the instructions for disposing of any chemical container, even the most toxic, is to “triple rinse” before disposal. The idea is that if some unsuspecting person grabs the container and uses it for drinking water, it won’t hurt them.

It seemed to me that the emissions were being diluted with the air much like triple rinsing.