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.
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…
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.
The use of inerting gas or other means of separation should be employed when conducting mechanical work where hydrogen gas could be present. More importantly, per CGA S1.3, the vessel should be equipped with a dual relief system that can isolate…
All valves and connectors should be clearly labeled to minimize chances for mis-connection. All technicians must be trained on proper procedures for both taking systems offline and bringing them back online.
Valves for compressed hydrogen…
First, it appears that the system may not have been vented properly. CGA G-5.5 should be used for determining safe locations based on the variables of the specific setup. Also, if the compressor was tied to a storage system, a backflow prevention…
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…
The tube was 403 stainless steel, which is subject to hydrogen embrittlement. It is requested that all gauges that have bourdon tubes be replaced with 303 stainless steel.
A web-based resource developed by Sandia National Laboratories to…
The charging characteristics of a battery vary with the condition of the battery and are proportional to the ampere-hour capacity of the battery. During charging, when a battery is close to being fully charged, hydrogen and oxygen both offgas in…
It is characteristic of silver/zinc batteries to outgas both hydrogen and oxygen for several hours after discharge. Also, in the future, the battery should be properly secured inside the container.
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.
Proper bolt identification can prevent similar occurrences in the future. This can be achieved by simply painting the critical bolt heads a certain color (or by purchasing bolts with painted bolt heads). An explanation form should then be clearly…
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.
Normally hydrogen fires are not extinguished until the supply of hydrogen has been shut off due to the danger of re-ignition and explosion. During a gas leak/fire, it is important to shut off the source of the hydrogen if it is safe to do so. If…
Lessons Learned The site initiated the establishment of a field patrol and strengthened their onsite monitoring of mechanical equipment during a plant-wide temperature rise.
An investigation team was formed to determine the cause of this anomaly. The team performed a fault tree analysis which identified the following five main paths or gates: fault in the original weld, age, component not built per design intent,…
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.
1. Increase physical protection, shielding, and securing of transported hydrogen tube valves, piping, and fittings from multi-directional forces that are likely to occur during accidents, including rollovers. Reference: 49 Code of Federal…
1. All samples with potential for hydrogen buildup should be limited to ground shipment only. (This shipment was by ground and air. If this incident were to have happened in an airplane, the consequences may have been worse.)
2. All samples…
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