On Monday, Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain took to Twitter to attack the Harris County Pollution Control Services Department for advising locals to "stay indoors and wear a face mask to reduce exposure."
But this mask warning had nothing to do with COVID-19. It was the result of a railyard mishap in the Houston area that led to the release of hydrogen sulfide gas. In addition to being a common component of human flatulence and smelling of rotten eggs, hydrogen sulfide is extremely poisonous in large quantities.
The attack by Cain, a controversial Republican figure who has previously called for abolishing the city of Austin and mocked physicist Stephen Hawking after his death from ALS, elicited confusion from commenters on social media. He only caused more confusion after claiming that "a respirator works" to deal with the toxic gas, given that a respirator is a heavy-duty form of face mask.
