Berkshire Well Owners: That ‘Landman’ Death Scene? It’s Not Happening Here

In a harrowing scene from Season 2 Episode 2 of Landman, characters stumble into a cloud of hydrogen sulfide gas and collapse within seconds, fighting for their lives. Was this scene just exaggerated for entertainment? It was, in fact, exaggerated - but, this is the kind of Hollywood drama that makes viewers wonder: Could that happen here?

The short answer is no, but hydrogen sulfide does exist in the Berkshires, just not at the deadly concentrations found in Texas oilfields.

Well Water

Hydrogen sulfide, the gas that smells like rotten eggs, is most commonly encountered in Western Massachusetts through private well water. I have well water, and I can smell this every once in a while in our upstairs bathroom. According to UMass Amherst's Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, wells drilled in shale or sandstone, common in Berkshire County, can contain hydrogen sulfide produced by sulfur-reducing bacteria. -umass.edu

The difference? Concentration levels.

In Landman, the characters likely encountered 500-1,000 parts per million (ppm) of hydrogen sulfide, levels found in oil and gas drilling operations that can cause immediate unconsciousness and death. In the Berkshires, hydrogen sulfide in well water typically measures 0.5-6 milligrams per liter, which creates a nuisance odor but poses no health risk when released into the air!

"Most people can detect hydrogen sulfide in water at concentrations as low as 0.5 milligrams per liter," notes the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. "You'd smell it long before it could harm you."

Berkshire residents with private wells may occasionally notice a "rotten egg" smell from their tap water, especially hot water, but this is an aesthetic issue, not a safety concern.

While Hollywood's depiction of hydrogen sulfide is based in reality for oil and gas workers, Berkshire residents can relax. Our hydrogen sulfide encounters are limited to smelly well water.