Event
- Event ID
- 282
- Quality
- Description
- While returning to the base, a liquid hydrogen tanker had to be vented twice.
The cause of the overpressure was a malfunctioning scale which allowed a slight overload of hydrogen.
[Zalosh and Short, 1978] - Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- Main component involved?
- Lh2 Tanker
- How was it involved?
- Manual Venting
- Initiating cause
- Over-Pressurisation (Wrong Operation)
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The INITIATING CAUSE was the build-up of pressure inside the tank, which forced to manual venting.
ROOT CAUSE was The cause of the overpressure was a malfunctioning scale which allowed a slight overload of hydrogen.
Facility
- Application
- Hydrogen Transport And Distribution
- Sub-application
- LH2 tanker
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Hydrogen Transport (No additional details provided)
- All components affected
- manual vent
- Location type
- Open
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 0
- Property loss (offsite)
- 0
- Emergency action
- The fire probably extingished by itself, the report does not mention any action aiming to reduce consequence, only that an ambulance was called.
Lesson Learnt
- Lesson Learnt
Zalosh et al (see references), concluded their analysis of hydrogen transportation accidents till 1978 with the following conclusions:
"Finally, an encouraging aspect of the transportation incident compilation is that 71% of the hydrogen releases did not lead to an ignition. ... The relatively few ignitions may be due to either to lack of ignition sources or to the rapid dispersal of hydrogen into the atmosphere. In any event, the accident data provide further incentive t o transport , transfer and store hydrogen outdoors away from occupied areas."
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Presumed ignition source
- No ignition
References
- Reference & weblink
Appendix A of Zalosh and Short<br />
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HYDROGEN FIRE AND EXPLOSION INCIDENTS<br />
Quarterly Report No. 1 for Period September 1, 1977 - Novemebr, 1977<br />
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6566131<br />
(accessed September 2020)Event incident I-19760200015 provided as example by Zalosh and Short Quarterly report 1 1977-78
Event incident I-19760200015 of the PHMSA database (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 1996),<br />
https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/analytics/saw.dll?Portalpages<br />
(accessed September 2024)
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
