Near Miss: Hydrogen Detector Triggers Alarm at Airport Refueling Station
This near miss occurred at the at an airport's hydrogen refilling station. Around 4:30 a.m., the hydrogen detector of the station was triggered and a sound and light alarm were activated. The hydrogen filling station was up in safe mode and the hydrogen storage system isolated. The connection pipes were purged via the vent and the power supply cut off. An on-call technician from the company in charge of managing the station arrived at 6:15 a.m., confirmed that the installation has been made safe and stopped the alarm. The leak was located on the compressors filter. This filter was located in a restricted and confined space controlled by a gas detector. The detector triggered the alarm because the concentration of hydrogen in the atmosphere had reached its safety limit (25% of the lower explosive limit). Nevertheless the amount of dispersed hydrogen have been very low. The defective filter was replaced.
Event Date
October 31, 2022
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Cause Comments
The initiating cause of the event was a loss of confinement of a gasket inside the filter of the hydrogen compressor.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
Compressors, filter, gasket
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Airport and/or Airborne
Operational Condition
Pre-event Summary
Approximately one month before, another hydrogen leak had affected the same HRS (See HIAD 1063)
Consequences
Number of Injured Persons
10
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Following the event, the airport operator asked the hydrogen station operator: to inform local companies of risk management at hydrogen production facilities; to adjust the on-site intervention of technicians according to the need of the local companies.
Event Nature
Emergency Action
The leaking hydrogen triggered the alarm of the safety detector in place, and the station was put in safe mode, apparently automatically, although the source of the event does not explicitly says so.
Release Type
Release Substance
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References