Event
- Event ID
- 46
- Quality
- Description
Lightning caused fires at a plant near Hamburg after igniting a hydrogen mixture release through a ventilation pipe
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- fire
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- Germany
- Date
- Component involved
- venting system (exit)
- Failure mode
- ignition of vented H2
- Initiating cause
- extreme environmental conditions (lightning)
- Root CAUSE analysis
INITIATING CAUSE and ROOT CAUSE was the ignition in air of the hydrogen vented through a vent stack.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 28/02/2009
Facility
- Application
- Chemical industry
- Sub-application
- Not specified
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
Vent stack
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- unknown
- Operational condition
- Pre-event occurrences
A tornado hit that day the northern part of Germany
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
Lesson Learnt
- Lesson Learnt
This is an example of 'lack of lessons', due to lack of details. In this sense, this case is instructive, as many other with Quality 2, because it highlights what is needed for an analysis.
Nothing is known on the operative conditions which brought to the creation of a flammable mixture near the vent exit. Was it a normal venting operation or an emergency venting due to the shutdown of some unit? In the former case, was formation of a flammable mixture part of the safe design? Was the electrical grounding of the vent and protection against lightning correct and effective?
How often did a lightning strike without consequences?
And finally, did the plant management introduce improvements aiming at reducing the probability of this type of events?
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- HySafe
- Reference & weblink
HIAD 1.0 reporting template (Original source unavailable).
