Event
- Event ID
- 436
- Quality
- Description
A fire occurred on top of a vent stack attached to a LH2 vessel. The ignition source was unknown but electrical storms in the vicinity may have been responsible. The flame was extinguished by purging the line with helium.
- 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
- venting system (exit)
- Failure mode
- ignition of vented H2
- Initiating cause
- extreme environmental conditions (lightning)
- Root CAUSE analysis
Too less details, ROOT CAUSE analysis impossible.
- Root causes
- Unknown
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/11/2025
Facility
- Application
- Non-road vehicles
- Sub-application
- Aerospace
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
vent stack
- Process temperature range [C]
- cryogenic temperature (below -50°C)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
- UNKNOWN
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Emergency action
The flame was extinguished by purging the line with helium.
In-depth data
- Release type
- liquid
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
References
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 77 in
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344Hankinson and Lowesmith, Qualitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Liquefaction, Storage and Transportation, FCH JU project IDEALHY, Deliverable 3.10 (2013)
confidential
(accessed October 2025)Lowesmith et al., Safety issues of the liquefaction, storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen: An analysis of incidents and HAZIDS, Int. J. Hydrogen energy (2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.08.002
