Event
- Event ID
- 538
- Quality
- Description
GH2 was vented from a relief valve and ignited by lightning. The plant affected was producing edible oil and shortenings
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- fire
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- Component involved
- PRD (valve)
- Failure mode
- ignition of vented H2
- Initiating cause
- extreme environmental conditions (lightning)
- Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING CAUSE was the ignition of a hydrogen vented at the vent stack, due to a lightning. Without the ignition energy provided by the lightning, the hydrogen would have dispersed.
Lightnings are rare events, and probably the affected vent stack was not equipped for this type of events, for example not (enough well) grounded.
This suggests as ROOT CAUSE a small shortcoming in installation.- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 28/01/2026
Facility
- Application
- Chemical industry
- Sub-application
- food production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Process temperature range [C]
- ambient temperature (-50°C to +50°C)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- unknown
- Operational condition
- UNKNOWN
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 5.000
In-depth data
- Release temperature [°C]
- 25
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
- Reference & weblink
Table II - Industrial Incidetns of Appendix A of Zalosh and Short
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HYDROGEN FIRE AND EXPLOSION INCIDENTS
Quarterly Report No. 2 for Period December 1, 1977 - February 28, 1978
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6566131
(accessed September 2020)
