HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	121
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING A REVIEW OF AMBIENT AIR STANDARDS FOR HYDROGEN SULFIDE EMISSIONS TO SUSTAIN AND PROTECT THE NATURAL BEAUTY AND AIR QUALITY OF THE STATE.

     WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide is a harmful and potentially lethal poison and is recognizable by its distinctive "rotten egg" odor; and

     WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide is created during the breakdown of organic materials and is a common by-product of sewage treatment facilities; and

     WHEREAS, when Hawaii's existing ambient air quality standard for hydrogen sulfide was established in 1992, it was set at a level that "protected individuals from both adverse health effects and odor nuisance," according to Dr. John C. Lewin, the then Director of Health; and

     WHEREAS, in establishing the current 25 parts per billion (ppb) standard, the Department of Health (DOH), according to its 1992 press release that announced the new standard, took into consideration:

(1)  Toxicological research on hydrogen sulfide that discovered for the first time physical effects on humans and rats at 10,000 ppb, more than 400 times higher than the 25 ppb standard;

(2)  The level of detection for odor in sensitive people that has been established at five ppb, and studies that have documented that people "become annoyed" when hydrogen sulfide levels are about five times the level of detection, i.e., 25 ppb;

(3)  Hawaii's standard that is equivalent or slightly stricter than California's standard, which has served California well for over several decades of geothermal development and remains set at 30 ppb today; and

(4)  The Director of Health's authorization to establish stricter controls in specific permits where circumstances warrant such actions;

and

     WHEREAS, it has been found that hydrogen sulfide can be detected and recognized even at very low concentrations, and it is estimated that half of all people can recognize the smell of hydrogen sulfide at a concentration as low as four and four tenths ppb; and

     WHEREAS, studies have found that ambient air concentrations as low as seven to ten ppb can cause symptoms such as headaches and eye and throat irritations and that children are more sensitive to hydrogen sulfide and may experience health effects at lower exposure levels; and

     WHEREAS, DOH currently allows ambient air concentrations of hydrogen sulfide which do not exceed an average of 25 ppb in any one-hour period; and

     WHEREAS, the World Health Organization recommends that, to avoid substantial complaints about odor annoyance, hydrogen sulfide concentrations should not be allowed to exceed five ppb on average over any 30-minute period; and

     WHEREAS, DOH ambient air standard is currently five times this level averaged over a longer one-hour period; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that DOH is urged to review its existing ambient air standards for public exposure to hydrogen sulfide emissions with the goal of reducing applicable standards to further protect the public; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

Report Title: 

Air Quality; Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions