Event
- Event ID
- 502
- Quality
- Description
A mixture of radiolytic hydrogen and oxygen exploded in the off-gas sytem, due to improper grounding of filters. It resulted in an electrical charge which ignited the mixture.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- Component involved
- off-gas system
- Failure mode
- internal explosion
- Initiating cause
- inadequate or no maintenance / calibration
- Root CAUSE analysis
The ROOT CAUSE could be attributed to a to inadequate installation. It is further surprising that the concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen were allowed to exceed the lower flammability limit in the off-gas system.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 28/01/2026
Facility
- Application
- Power plant
- Sub-application
- nuclear power plant
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
gas treatment / separation unit
- Process temperature range [C]
- unknown
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- unknown
- Location type
- Confined
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
- UNKNOWN
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 0
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2,O2
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
References
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
- Reference & weblink
Table II - Industrial Incidents 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)
