Following the death of a 29-year-old man found in his car, the Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office issued a safety bulletin regarding a “detergent suicide,” named so for the mixture of ingredients that produces deadly hydrogen sulfide gas. The detergent recipe is available on the Internet and uses chemicals that are available readily.

The safety bulletin advised police and fire personnel to use caution when approaching vehicles or contained areas. The vehicle had homemade hazmat warnings taped to the outside and indicated that one breath would kill — the gas is toxic at 100 ppm. The Boise Fire Hazmat Team responded, assessed and stabilized the scene before opening the vehicle or removing the occupant.

“Lucky for us the individual put signs on his car,” Deputy Chief of Training Tracy Raynor said. “We had our hazmat-team captain do a safety briefing and sent it over our cable TV channel and to other engine companies to be more vigilant and more aware of what’s going on. Sometimes a medical call isn’t just a medical call.”

The safety bulletin cautioned:

1. Officer safety and public safety could be compromised if the gas, usually concentrated within a small space like a car, bathroom, outbuilding, etc. is released without the proper safeguards in place – namely evacuation of the area, and release accomplished by people (i.e. the Hazmat Team) who are properly equipped to do it.
2. First responder awareness and education regarding this method is key in saving your own life. If you enter an area and it smells like rotten eggs take this as a clue to exit the area. The bad thing is that if you continue in the contaminated environment, the gas will actually diminish your sense of smell so you won’t be warned by the continued presence of the gas.
3. Hydrogen Sulfide gas is extremely flammable. Tactical entries into a contaminated environment utilizing a “flash-bang” or sting-ball device could cause an explosion. If this method catches on in the U.S. not only as a mode of suicide, but as a way of booby-trapping a clandestine location, chances of exposure will increase.