Risk Analysis on Mobile Hydrogen Refueling Stations in the World Expo Shanghai

During the World Expo Shanghai, there were one hundred fuel-cell sight-seeing cars in operation at the Expo Site. The sight-seeing cars were not allowed to drive out of the Expo Site, and the stationary hydrogen refueling station was not permitted to build at the Expo Site for the sake of safety. A flexible solution to refuel the cars was the application of mobile hydrogen refueling stations. To better understand the hazards and risks associated with the mobile hydrogen refueling stations, a risk analysis was preformed to improve the safety of the operations. The risks to the station personnel and to the public were discussed separately. Results show that the stationary risks of the mobile stations to the personnel and refueling customers are lower than the risk acceptance criteria over an order of magnitude, so occupational risks and risks to customers are completely acceptable. The third party risks can be acceptable as long as the appropriate mitigation measures are implemented, especially well designed parking area and operation time. Leak from boosters is the main risk contributor to the stationary risks because of its highest failure rates according to the generic data and its worst harm effects based on the consequence evaluations. As for the road risks of the mobile stations, they can be acceptable as long as the appropriate mitigation measures are implemented, especially well-designed moving path and transportation time.