Event
- Event ID
- 37
- Quality
- Description
- Due to the failure of a exhaust system, compressed hydrogen leaked into an area containing electrical components, with consequent fire.
Leakage was allowed when exhaust system failed. - 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 (Stack)
- How was it involved?
- Leak & Formation Of A Flammable H2-Air Mixture
- Initiating cause
- Unknown
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The INITIATING CAUSE was the failure of a exhaust vent, which caused hydrogen to access an indoor area with ignition source.
According to Zalosh’ report, when the venting system failed, ‘leakage was allowed’. If this means that the operator decided to execute anyhow a venting, taking into account the diffusion on hydrogen into the workshop, the ROOT CAUSE could be related to an inadequate management decision.
In addition, it could be also related to an inadequate risk assessment in the design phase, which did not consider this specific accidental scenario and therefore did not take the required mitigating measures.
Facility
- Application
- Steel And Metals Industry
- Sub-application
- zirconium production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
- zirconium production line, hydrogen exhaust system, electrical area
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location description
- Industrial Area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Environmental damage
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 8000
- Property loss (offsite)
- 0
- Post-event summary
- No injuries, 8000 $ material damage
- Emergency action
- A deflagration occurs following a hydrogen leak and its inflammation on a unit conditioning hydrogen. The fire is extinguished by the workers and hydrogen feeding is closed. The installation is stopped and placed under nitrogen.
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Release duration
- unknown
- Presumed ignition source
- Electricity
- Flame type
- Other
References
- Reference & weblink
Table II 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
