CHECK OUT OUR MOST RELEVANT INCIDENT LISTINGS!
Disclaimer: The Lessons Learned Database includes the incidents that were voluntarily submitted. The database is not a comprehensive source for all incidents that have occurred.
It is important to understand the requirements and standards associated with safe equipment design (especially electrical equipment containing an internal ignition source with flammable gas) in potentially explosive atmosphere environments.…
1. Management must ensure that operating decisions are not based primarily on cost and production. Performance goals and operating risks must be effectively communicated to all employees. Facility management must set safe, achievable operating…
Inadequate Safeguards - The system was designed with low-point drains to facilitate water removal, however, these were found to be inadequate in both location and size. The fact that the mixed feed pre-heat coil was not self-draining was unknown…
Procedures will be revised to include specific information about hydrogen sensors and alarm controls. Caution will be added about sparks and flames in the fuel cell operation area. Workers will be cautioned that shunt resistors may reach high…
Management should ensure that a complete and thorough review of the previous work activities identified in the work package is performed at the pre-job briefing for the planned work. Work activities should be discontinued if any confusion exists…
The practice of making gas mixtures in the laboratory should be eliminated, and gas mixtures with a known low hydrogen concentration should be purchased for use. The concentration of hydrogen used should be such that it is not possible to form an…
The primary lesson learned was that the active hydrogen facility and existing operating procedure, at the time of the accident, were sound. While this now has been determined, the previous form(s) of this system, associated documentation, and…
Diligence needs to be practiced when performing assigned work tasks. To guard against complacency, it is necessary to emphasize adherence to established procedures, including appropriate reviews of preventive maintenance instructions (PMI) and…
The lessons learned in this situation center around basic conduct of operations principles. Policies and procedures related to operations performance, safety performance, and management oversight were in place. They were not employed…
Personnel should be properly supervised, and supervisors should be aware of the activities of their personnel. Personnel must be motivated to adhere to established policies and procedures. All personnel associated with potentially hazardous work…
- Battery power supplies require adequate ventilation for all operations, or the battery box should be designed to:
- Eliminate all sparking devices
- Ventilate during charging operations
- Provide inert gas…
Standard procedure must be followed in all cases. Assumptions are made at great risk. Risk also increases with complacency.
Standard procedures must be followed at all times. The importance of doing so should be frequently reinforced through safety communications to all staff.
Because of the near invisibility of a hydrogen flame in daylight and hydrogen's extremely low ignition coefficient, if a known leak is present (e.g., an audible hissing), ignition should always be presumed. The primary cause of this incident…
Refueling operations need to be conducted in a careful and attentive manner, and operators need to be aware of the potential consequences of their actions.
Extra caution should be taken when working around elevated pressure storage tanks. Pressure relief valve settings should be checked and then verified by a second party if possible. Proper procedures need to be followed at all times.
Disable the fueling process if the operator does not follow the proper sequence of steps in the fueling procedure. Improve the fueling procedure to make it inherently impossible for the sequence to be done improperly with the same result.
- Provide additional retraining of operators. Curriculum should emphasize the proper response to high oxygen in the hydrogen gas.
- Evaluate current knowledge of operators. Operators should know…
- Train personnel on delivery procedures and emphasize the safety aspects of hydrogen connections and disconnections, and verification of clearance for trailer movement prior to departure.
- Provide site-specific delivery procedures…
- Inadequate Safeguards - The system was designed with low-point drains to facilitate water removal, however, these were found to be inadequate in both location and size. The fact that the mixed feed pre-heat coil was not self-draining was…
Key:
- = No Ignition
- = Explosion
- = Fire
Equipment / Cause | Equipment Design or Selection | Component Failure | Operational Error | Installation or Maintenance | Inadequate Gas or Flame Detection | Emergency Shutdown Response | Other or Unknown |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hydrogen Gas Metal Cylinder or Regulator | 3/31/2012 4/30/1995 2/6/2013 |
4/26/2010 | 12/31/1969 | 3/17/1999 11/1/2001 12/23/2003 |
|||
Piping/Valves | 4/4/2002 2/2/2008 5/11/1999 |
4/20/1987 11/4/1997 12/31/1969 8/19/1986 7/27/1991 12/19/2004 2/6/2008 10/3/2008 4/5/2006 5/1/2007 9/19/2007 10/31/1980 |
2/7/2009 | 1/24/1999 2/24/2006 6/8/1998 12/31/1969 2/7/2009 |
10/3/2008 | ||
Tubing/Fittings/Hose | 9/23/1999 8/2/2004 8/6/2008 9/19/2007 |
1/1/1982 | 9/30/2004 10/7/2005 |
10/7/2005 | |||
Compressor | 10/5/2009 6/10/2007 8/21/2008 1/15/2019 |
10/5/2009 | 8/21/2008 | ||||
Liquid Hydrogen Tank or Delivery Truck | 4/27/1989 | 12/19/2004 1/19/2009 |
8/6/2004 | 12/31/1969 | 1/1/1974 | 12/17/2004 | |
Pressure Relief Device | 7/25/2013 5/4/2012 |
1/15/2002 1/08/2007 |
12/31/1969 | ||||
Instrument | 1/15/2019 | 3/17/1999 12/31/1969 2/6/2013 |
11/13/73 | ||||
Hydrogen Generation Equipment | 7/27/1999 | 10/23/2001 | |||||
Vehicle or Lift Truck | 7/21/2011 | 2/8/2011 12/9/2010 |
|||||
Fuel Dispenser | 8/2/2004 5/1/2007 6/11/2007 9/19/2007 |
2/24/2006 1/22/2009 |
|||||
Fuel Cell Stack | |||||||
Hydrogen Cooled Generator | 12/31/1969 2/7/2009 |
||||||
Other (floor drain, lab anaerobic chamber, heated glassware, test chamber, gaseous hydrogen composite cylinder, delivery truck) |
11/14/1994 7/21/2011 |
7/27/1999 6/28/2010 8/21/2008 |
12/31/1969 3/22/2018 |
6/10/2019 |
- = No Ignition
- = Explosion
- = Fire