“…Autopsies of two workers who collapsed and died while repairing a submersible pump in a pump storage tank at a Kennebunkport, Maine, hotel on Sept. 27 reveals they were exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas… It is 
suspected that the men did not test the atmosphere before they entered the tank..”
 “…Hydrogen sulfide is given off by bacteria present in sewage and exposure quickly can lead to unconsciousness and death…”
The storage tank where the men were working is 9 feet below ground and approximately 4 feet high by 6 feet long by 5 feet wide. Neither man was wearing a respirator when the bodies were found.
Studley and Kemp were working near an employee of Nest and Sons, who was pumping out the underground tank. He left with a load of sewage and when he returned, the men were gone, even though their truck still was in the parking lot. At that point, a hotel employee reporting them missing and when pumping was resumed in the tank, one of the bodies surfaced. The tank was searched and the second body was found.
For more:Â http://ehstoday.com/safety/confined_space_workers_killed_1003/
