Explosion at a hydrogen furnace

Two employees were working on a electric furnace under hydrogen atmosphere that had jammed. The furnace exploded. The employees sustained flash burns to their faces and were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released later the same day. The retrieval tool they were using was not suitable for servicing a hydrogen furnace, and may have been the ignition source for the explosion. The furnace had not been purged for 10 hours, as required by the manufacturer.

The furnace had not been purged for 10 hours, as required by the manufacturer.

Hydrogen furnace

The furnace had not been purged for 10 hours, as required by the manufacturer. The retrieval tool the workers were using was not suitable for servicing a hydrogen furnace, and may have been the ignition source for the explosion.

They sustained flash burns to their faces and were taken to the emergency room at Petaluma Valley Hospital, where they were treated and released later the same day.

This is a case of incident caused by failing to follow existing procedures. Furnace operation, even in case of repairs, should strictly follow manufacturer's requirements. In particular, in presence of hydrogen in the system, effective purging is a critical step.
Care should be taken in selecting retrieval tool avoiding them acting as ignition source.