Event
- Event ID
- 538
- Quality
- Description
- GH2 was vented from a relief valve and ignited by lightning. The plant affected was producing edible oil and shortenings
[Zalosh and Short, 1978] - Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Fire (No additional details provided)
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- Main component involved?
- Venting System (Exit)
- How was it involved?
- Ignition Of Vented H2
- Initiating cause
- Extreme Environmental Conditions (Lightning)
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The INITIATING CAUSE was the ignition of a hydrogen vented at the vent stack, due to a lightning. Without the ignition energy provided by the lightning, the hydrogen would have dispersed.
Lightnings are rare events, and probably the affected vent stack was not equipped for this type of events, for example not (enough well) grounded.
This suggests as ROOT CAUSE a small shortcoming in installation.
Facility
- Application
- Chemical Industry
- Sub-application
- food production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Location type
- Open
- Location description
- Unknown
- Operational condition
- Unknown (No additional details provided)
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 5000
Event Nature
- Ignition delay
- Weather - lightning
References
- Reference & weblink
Table II - Industrial Incidetns of Appendix A of Zalosh and Short<br />
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HYDROGEN FIRE AND EXPLOSION INCIDENTS<br />
Quarterly Report No. 2 for Period December 1, 1977 - February 28, 1978<br />
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6566131<br />
(accessed September 2020)
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
