Event
- Event ID
- 623
- Quality
- Description
- During repairs of a heat exchanger in a benzene plant, a mixed gas (methane and hydrogen) contained in the cold box attached to the exchanger leaked and caught fire from a welding spark. The exchanger was severely damaged by the fire.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Fire (No additional details provided)
- Macro-region
- Asia
- Date
- Main component involved?
- Heat Exchanger (Cold Box)
- How was it involved?
- Leak & Formation Of A Flammable H2-Ch4-Mixture
- Initiating cause
- Wrong Operation
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
The ROOT CAUSE was the failure to close a valve with a blind plate, before starting the repairs. The cold box was not properly closed.
Facility
- Application
- Petrochemical Industry
- Sub-application
- Benzene production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
- Heat exchanger
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location description
- Industrial Area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Post-event summary
- The exchanger was severely damaged by the fire.
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2, CH4
- Presumed ignition source
- Welding
References
- Reference & weblink
Event nr 10256 of the UK database ICHEME in PDF format.<br />
https://www.icheme.org/knowledge/safety-centre/resources/accident-data/… />
(accessed October 2020)<br />
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- ICHEME
