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Near Miss: Hydrogen Leak at Airport Refueling Station Causes Emergency Response (1063)

This near miss occurred at an airport's hydrogen refilling station. At 7:35, a hydrogen leak was detected by hearing whistles in the near of a pipe. The operators warned the airport firefighters ten minutes later. Upon their arrival, the firefighters set up a security perimeter of 150 m around the installation. The station is located on the border between the public space and the private space and was surrounded by a fence with a gate accessible only by a code unknown to the emergency services.

Cooling Power Loss in a Foundry (1061)

This near miss occurred at metal smelting unit of a foundry. At 9:45 a.m., due to a power outage, the cooling pumps of two furnaces containing nickel and chromium stopped. One of the two furnaces was at the end of the smelting cycle. The temperature of the metal was 1300C. Due to the stop of the cooling system, water from the public network took over the cooling function, but was not efficient, causing the cooling coil to overheat.

Hydrogen Pipeline Leak Detected by Bubbling Water in Ditch (1059)

Early in the morning of (3:00 AM), the personnel on one of the companies on site reported a potential pipeline leak just south of the valve station. The potential leak was discovered due to bubbling water in the ditch. No visible hydrocarbon sheen was noted, indicating a probable non-hydrocarbon gas leak. Later in the morning, the personnel tested their area gas pipelines and determined that their company was not the source of the leak. Later on the same day, another company tested their pipelines and determined that their hydrogen pipeline was the source of the leak.

Weld Failure on Hydrogen Transmission Pipeline Causes Leak (1057)

Release from a welding of a hydrogen transmission pipeline At 12:45 pm the operation control centre (OCC) recognised that a customer flow and pressure dropped significantly. At 13:28 the OCC made the decision to close the upstream remote operated valve. At 15:00 the pipeline technician arrived on site and confirmed the breach in the pipeline. Additional pipeline operations technicians were deployed to isolate both manual block valve upstream and downstream of the incident site.

Release from a Hydrogen Truck (1055)

A hydrogen leak took place on a trailer carrying compressed hydrogen, located inside the fenced perimeter of a hydrogen station. According to the company managing the hydrogen delivery and refuelling station, the leak did not pose any risk to people or the environment. A preliminary assessment identified a faulty valve s source of the leak, but t was unclear a that time if it was a single defect or a systemic (i.e. design) problem.

Explosion of a Storage Vessel in a Hydrogen Production Facility (1053)

This incident occurred at the hydrogen production and storage unit of (probably) a power plant using hydrogen as a coolant of the turbine-generator system. Hydrogen was produced probably by water electrolysis (the source does not say it) and stored in 6 steel tanks. One of the six hydrogen storage tanks exploded killing a staff member. The investigation determined that a mixing of hydrogen and oxygen occurred in the tank. The needle valve of the hydrogen and oxygen pressure regulator as jammed, and the oxygen leaked into the hydrogen main supply line and entered the hydrogen tank.

Fire in a Fertilizers Plant (1052)

a gas leakage (approximately 70% hydrogen, 21% nitrogen and the rest carbon monoxide and other impurities) occurred at the connection between a temperature measurement casing and a flange in the carbonization workshop cleaning tower. The leakage was reported to the plant leader, who issued the request to the workers to use iron cards and rubber plates to plug the leak. The operation failed and the leakage continued. At 17:00, at the request of the plant leader, the workers used a tire inner tube to wrap the leak.

Explosion in a Process Gases Line of a Fertilizers Production Plant (1051)

A gas release occurred in the building for the recirculation of processes gas. The gas was a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen. It occurred at the outlet valve, during works aiming to replace it. This caused the creation of an explosive gas mixture and the surrounding spaces. The defective valve has been identified several years before, its poor design and ageing caused the gas leakage. The ignition took place with 9 minutes delay after initial leakage.

Explosion of a Hydrogen Tank in a Steel Manufacturing Plant (1050)

The 10 m3 hydrogen storage tank at the hydrogen station belonging to the oxygen plant exploded during production operation. The hydrogen storage tank was installed and used by the plant in 1995, with a design pressure of 1,5 MPa, a volume of 10 m^3, a minimum wall thickness of 12 mm, a total length of 4576 mm (height) and an inner diameter of 1800 mm. After the explosion, there were no metal components left, except for the cement prefabricated foundation of the tank base.

Explosion at a Pipeline of a Petrochemical Plant (1049)

A gas mixture (25% nitrogen, 73% of hydrogen, 2% methane) leaked, due to the ejection of the check valve from its connection with the inlet pipe. A large amount of the gas mixed with air and ignited, probably due to sparks generated by the ejected check hitting a metal pipe. It followed an explosion. Its pressure wave hit a gas pipeline causing its fracture and a fire. After about 1 hour and 30 minutes the fire was under control. The shockwave from the explosion caused a gas pipe at the back of the workshop to crack and leak, causing a large fire.
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