Hydrogen Retort Explosion
At a linear accelerator site, a hydrogen retort exploded during ignition of burn-off gas. One employee experienced hearing loss in one ear and a shoulder injury from being blown into a cabinet. A second employee was checked by medicals and authorized to return to work.
Event Date
March 6, 1996
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Cause Comments
Not described.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
hydrogen retort, burn-off gases.
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Unknown
Operational Condition
Consequences
Number of Injured Persons
5
Number of Fatalities
2
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
This event reports only the start of the investigation of failure modes. Nothing is know on the conclusion.
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Unknown
Emergency Evaluation
Investigation of failure modes and procedures started, and production was halted until resolution of cause.
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Internal report SAN--SU-SLAC-1996-0005, not available anymore