Event
- Event ID
- 329
- Quality
- Description
- A temperature probe on a hydrogen make up gas compressor blew out from its compression fitting. This resulted in a release of hydrogen. The incident occurred due to a fatigue failure of the compression fitting.
The plant was shut down immediately, preventing any further release of hydrogen.
Vibration, manufacture and installation were all being considered as possible reasons for the failure. There were 20 such probes on the plant and these have all been removed until the cause of the failure could be established. - 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
- United Kingdom
- Date
- Main component involved?
- Joint/Connection
- How was it involved?
- Rupture
- Initiating cause
- Material Degradation (Fatigue)
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The INITIATING/direct cause was a loss of confinement due to the failure of a temperature probe, possibly due to vibrations.
Contributing causes were possibly manufacturing and installation shortcomings.
Facility
- Application
- Chemical Industry
- Sub-application
- unspecified
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Hydrogen Compression (No additional details provided)
- All components affected
- compression fitting,
temperature gauge,
H2 compressor - Location type
- Unknown
- Location description
- Industrial Area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Investigation comments
- An investigation was performed to determine what may have caused the failure. Until conclusions are drawn 20 similar probes on site have been removed from service.
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Presumed ignition source
- No ignition
- Deflagration
- N
- High pressure explosion
- N
- High voltage explosion
- N
References
- Reference & weblink
Event description provided by HSE, original source confidential
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- HSE
