Why in news?  11 people died due to a gas leak in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana, Punjab, while four people fell ill and were hospitalised. Any definitive reasons for the leak are not known so far. A  magisterial inquiry into the incident has been initiated. According  to the air quality sensors used by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team, high levels of Hydrogen Sulphide gas, a kind of neurotoxin, have been detected and it is being ascertained how this gas might have led to the incident.

Highlights:

• Hydrogen sulphide is so toxic that even one breath of it taken inside can kill a person.
• Probably some acidic waste was thrown into sewer which reacted with methane, carbon monoxide and other sewerage gases to produce hydrogen sulphide

What are neurotoxins?

• Neurotoxins are poisonous substances which can directly affect the nervous system. Neurotoxicity occurs when exposure to natural or man-made toxic substances alters the normal activity of the nervous system.
• These substances can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons or nerve cells, which are important for transmitting and processing signals in the brain and other parts of the nervous system.
• They directly attack the respiratory tract of the body, thereby overpowering the oxygen concentration of the body and then the nervous system as well

What  are neurotoxic gases?

• Methane, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are common neurotoxic gases.
• While methane and carbon monoxide are odourless gases, hydrogen sulphide has a pungent odour and in higher concentration it can be fatal for humans.