Event
- Event ID
- 342
- Quality
- Description
A hydrogen leak alarm was received in the control room from the reformer of the hydrogen plant of a chemicals manufacturing facility. The reformed was depressurised and the leak stopped.
The leak was reported to the duty officer and nitrogen flushing was started in the reformer.
The leak, a 15 mm rupture at the bottom of the tank, was located in a couple of hours. From measurements performed after the nitrogen flushing, hydrogen was still found to be present in the tank, apparently having been left in the catalysts and inside the pocket on the upper section of the tank. The top flange of the tank was opened and nitrogen flushing was continued from below with a hose.- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- Leak No Ignition (No additional details provided)
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- Finland
- Date
- Root causes
- Unknown (No additional details provided)
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The INITIATING CAUSE The was a crack at the bottom of the reformer tank.
No details are provided, able to identify a ROOT CAUSE.
Facility
- Application
- Chemical Industry
- Sub-application
- Pharmaceutical production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
- steam methane reformer, catalysist
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location description
- Industrial Area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Environmental damage
- 0
- Property loss (offsite)
- 0
Event Nature
- Release type
- Gas mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2,
fluor - Presumed ignition source
- Not reported
- Deflagration
- N
- High pressure explosion
- N
- High voltage explosion
- N
References
- Reference & weblink
HSE reporting a confidential report
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- HSE
