Event
- Event ID
- 398
- Quality
- Description
- Test facility H2 vent line exploded destroying about 150 feet of line. The flare stack was on at the time.
[Ordin, NASA (1974)] - Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- -
- Main component involved?
- Venting System (Line)
- How was it involved?
- Internal Explosion (H2-Air Mixture)
- Initiating cause
- Inadequate Or No Purge
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The line had not been properly purged after removing and installing a vent valve in the system. Ignition of the hydrogen-air mixture occurred either from flare stack or from static charge.
Facility
- Application
- Laboratory / R&d
- Sub-application
- material testing
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
- vent
- Location type
- Unknown
- Operational condition
- Unknown (No additional details provided)
- Pre-event occurrences
- The vent line had been earlier maintained, by re-installation of a vent valve. It is unknown if the incident occurred during testing or shutdown venting.
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Environmental damage
- 0
- Property loss (offsite)
- 0
- Post-event summary
- Only part of the vent line was destroyed.
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Release duration
- immediate
- Presumed ignition source
- Open flame
- Ignition delay
- N
References
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 58 in <br />
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565<br />
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344Lowesmith et al., Safety issues of the liquefaction, storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen: An analysis of incidents and HAZIDS, Int. J. Hydrogen energy (2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.08.002
Hankinson and Lowesmith, Qualitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Liquefaction, Storage and Transportation, FCH JU project IDEALHY, Deliverable 3.10 (2013)<br />
confidential<br />
(accessed October 2025)
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
