Skip to main content
Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Release from a CGH2 storage tank in an aerospace centre

Event

Event ID
98
Quality
Description

A hydrogen leak occurred on a flange located on a pipe coming from the hydrogen storage tank. The staff was confined and the Internal Operation Plan was launched.
Helium was injected in the tank and an operator equipped with a breathing apparatus closed the valve between the tank and the leaking flange.

No one was injured and no damages occurred.

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
flange (generic)
Failure mode
leak, no ignition
Initiating cause
material degradation (generic)
Root CAUSE analysis

INITIATING cause was a leaking flange.

Root causes
Unknown
Date entry in HIAD
28/02/2009

Facility

Application
Other
Sub-application
aerospace components production
Hydrogen supply chain stage
All components affected

Production of space booster

Process temperature range [C]
ambient temperature (-50°C to +50°C)
Location type
Unknown
Location
industrial area
Operational condition

Emergency & Consequences

Number of fatalities
0
Number of injured persons
0
Post-event summary

A continuous monitoring is made during the night.

Emergency action

The staff was confined and the Internal Operation Plan launched.
Helium was injected in the tank and an operator equipped with a breathing apparatus closed the valve between the tank and the leaking flange.

Emergency evaluation

A computer simulation showed that in case of explosion the thermal and over-pressure damage would be limited to few meters.

In-depth data

Release type
gas
Involved substances (% vol)
H2 100%
Release temperature [°C]
25
Probable IGNITION SOURCE

References

Sources categories
ARIA
Reference & weblink

Original description of the event in ARIA