Event
- Event ID
- 837
- Quality
- Description
At a water sports center, a 35-liter container of caustic soda (NaOH) spilled down an aluminum metal staircase leading to a technical room housing other chemicals and electrical cabinets. Hydrogen was released from the reaction of the soda with the aluminum. Emergency services fearing further escalation by pollution of a pit containing a lift pump connected to a shipyard and a neutralisation system. Absorbents were poured onto the spill.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- leak no ignition
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- France
- Date
- Component involved
- n.a.
- Failure mode
- rupture, no ignition
- Initiating cause
- n.a.
- Root CAUSE analysis
Spilling of substance is usually attributed to a human error. However, the prevention of spilling is responsibility of effective procedures.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2020
Facility
- Application
- Other
- Sub-application
- nautical center
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
aluminium metal staircase
- Process temperature range [C]
- ambient temperature (-50°C to +50°C)
- Location type
- Confined
- Location
- harbour or waterborne
- Operational condition
- Description of the facility/unit/process/substances
The reaction between caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and aluminum is a highly exothermic process that produces sodium aluminate and hydrogen gas:
(2Al + 2NaOH + 2H2O -> 2NaAlO2 + 3H2).
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Emergency action
Absorbents were spilled on the puddle. A private company recovered the product. The nautical centre was closed to the public for a while.
In-depth data
- Release type
- Gas-liquid-solid mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- NaHO,
Al,
H2 - Release temperature [°C]
- 25
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- ARIA
- Reference & weblink
ARIA data base
event no. 27407
