Explosion caused by hydrogen tank piercing

Event

Event ID: 519
Quality: 2
Description: This report consists of two events:

B. On February 23, 2004, one person was injured, apparently lightly, in a fire that broke out following a hydrogen explosion, at Herzliya Pituah, Israel . An investigation into the incident suggested that the explosion occurred when a fork-lift truck pierced one of the gas cylinders. Everyone in the area was evacuated, and the surrounding rounds were closed to traffic for a period.

A. On January 1, 2003, a similar incident had already occurred at the same factory , when one person was killed. At that time, police and plant owners agreed that the factory would be relocated within two years.
Event Initiating system: Hydrogen System Initiating Event
Classification of the physical effects: Hydrogen Release and Ignition
Nature of the consequences: Explosion
Macro-region: Asia
Country: Israel
Date: 23/02/2004
Main component involved?: Cgh2 Cylinder(S)
How was it involved?: Rupture & Formation Of A Flammable H2-Air Mixture
Initiating cause: Impact, Rollover, Crash
Root causes: Management Factors
Root CAUSE analysis: The fact that the same type of severe incident could occure twice suggest a lack of management effectivity.

Application: Chemical Industry
Sub-application: Gases production
Hydrogen supply chain stage: Hydrogen Storage (No additional details provided)
All components affected: fork-lift truck, cylinders
Location type: Unknown
Location description: Industrial Area
Operational condition: Normal

Lesson Learnt: At that time of the first event, police and plant owners agreed that the factory would be relocated within two years.
One year later a similar accident took place.
The decision to postpone of two years the solution of the problem was clearly wrong.