An explosion and fire occurred in a mud logging unit during the final phase of rigging it up. Gas analysers had been calibrated and the flame ionization detection (FID) and total hydrocarbon analyser (THA) modules were left in operation so that they could stabilize. The mud logging personnel were connecting the outside sample points and drains when the explosion and fire occurred.The mud logging unit used FID instrumentation that required hydrogen gas to be piped into the unit to serve as the fuel for the flame within the instrumentation.

Flask explosion due to hydrogen in the science class.

A man was burned when a fire broke out as a hydrogen cylinder was being changed in a governmental research centre. It was reported that the fire was started by a spark from a wrench. The sprinkler system put out the fire within minutes. A four litre (one US gallon) container of hydrochloric acid was broken during the incident, but caused no injuries. Several containers of methanol in the same area were not affected. The building was evacuated. Canberra makes nuclear instruments.

The Microbiological Anaerobic Chamber of approximately 2 m3 capacity was containing an explosive mixture of hydrogen and air. A fire followed the explosion, but was rapidly extinguished by staff using fire extinguishers, prior to the arrival of fire service personnel. The pressure wave from the explosion blew windows out of the laboratory, with glass hitting a passer-by on a path outside, and glass shards landing up to 30 m away.

Syngas explosion at a university laboratoryThe university lab affected was investigating generation of hydrogen and methane from biomass (wooden chips). The experimental furnace was a concrete cylindrical furnace of the diameter of 4 m and the height of 5 m. A fire jet occurred together with the explosion, and sparks fell on the professor in charge and students nearby. Nine persons were burned in face and hands and feet, and carried to the hospital by ambulances. They were only slightly injured.

A violent explosion occurred at a blast furnace. The explosion occurred while the blast furnace was being cleaned at the end of casting. For this purpose, worker poured the contents of a casting ladle, comprising slag and cinders, into a pit situated nearby. The pit contained more water than usual due to a considerable amount of rain in the preceding days.The heat of the slag apparently caused dissociation of the oxygen and hydrogen of the water, and he hydrogen then exploded, sending slag flying as far as 10-20 m.

On September 1, 1992, an explosion in this facility occurred due to an accidental release of hydrogen at the Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, US. Hydrogen gas was used in research reactors to deposit amorphous silicon thin-films. The explosion occurred during the replacement of a hydrogen cylinder which was stored in a ventilated gas cabinet equipped with sprinklers. This and other hazardous gases flowed to an enclosed reactor in an adjacent room.

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.

The incident at a bio-fuels research laboratory occurred when a visiting research fellow was transferring hydrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide into a low pressure gas cylinder to be used as a bacterial growth medium. The explosion was the result of a pressure gauge sparking, setting off the flammable gas mixture.

The laboratory works with soil bacteria that cannot survive in the presence of oxygen. As a result, research work is conducted inside a plastic chamber in which the chemical constituents in the air can be controlled. The explosion occurred during the set up of one of these chambers. The chamber is essentially a plastic bag with a volume of approximately two cubic meters. The setup procedure calls for using nitrogen to purge normal atmospheric air out of the bag three times, leaving a very small amount of residual oxygen present.