Event
- Event ID
- 37
- Quality
- Description
Due to the failure of a exhaust system, compressed hydrogen leaked into an area containing electrical components, with consequent fire.
Leakage was allowed when exhaust system failed.- 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
- venting system (stack)
- Failure mode
- leak & ignition
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING CAUSE was the failure of a exhaust vent, which caused hydrogen to access an indoor area with ignition source.
According to Zalosh’ report, when the venting system failed, ‘leakage was allowed’. If this means that the operator decided to execute anyhow a venting, taking into account the diffusion on hydrogen into the workshop, the ROOT CAUSE could be related to an inadequate management decision.
In addition, it could be also related to an inadequate risk assessment in the design phase, which did not consider this specific accidental scenario and therefore did not take the required mitigating measures.- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 28/02/2009
Facility
- Application
- Steel and metals industry
- Sub-application
- Zr metallurgy
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
zirconium production line, hydrogen exhaust system, electrical area
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 8.000
- Post-event summary
No injuries, 8000 $ material damage
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
- Reference & weblink
Table II 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)
