Event
- Event ID
- 390
- Quality
- Description
While a H2 sample was being prepared for an analysis, one of two cryogenic sample bottle disks ruptured and the gas ignited.
- 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
- PRD (burst disc)
- Failure mode
- premature activation
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root CAUSE analysis
A material deficiency in that the disk was extensively corroded and failed under work working gas pressure. Contributing causes were inadequate quality control which failed to detect the corroded disk, and a test set-up which aimed the disk end of the bottle toward technicians.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/11/2025
Facility
- Application
- Laboratory / R&D
- Sub-application
- Aerospace R&D
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Process temperature range [C]
- cryogenic temperature (below -50°C)
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- low to medium pressure (below 2 MPa)
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- unknown
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
References
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 49 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
