Severity
Incident
Was Hydrogen Released?
Yes
Was There Ignition?
No
Incident Date
Nov 01, 2001
Setting
Equipment
- Ventilation System
- Glove Box/Fume Hood
Damage and Injuries
Probable Cause
Contributing Factors
When Incident Was Discovered
Lessons Learned
Personnel should be aware that items requiring special receiving inspections should still be verified/examined by the end user prior to use.
Given that the anaerobic chamber and associated nearby electrical equipment were not designed or expected to handle a potentially explosive atmosphere, nearly all conditions necessary to have a much more serious event were present if the problem had not been discovered and the bag was not successfully purged of the hydrogen mixture.
Hydrogen use in anaerobic chambers is discussed in the Lessons Learned Corner on this website.