Lessons Learned

In early afternoon, a northbound tractor-semitrailer with horizontally mounted tubes filled with compressed hydrogen at approximately 2400 psi (166 bar) was struck by a northbound pickup truck that veered into the semitrailer's right rear axle. According to witnesses, the tractor-semitrailer then went out of control and left the roadway, coming to rest approximately 300 feet (91 meters) from the point of impact. As a result of rotational torque and impact, the end of one tube was sheared off at the bulkhead and left the tube bundle. During the process, some of the tubes, valves, piping, and fittings at the rear of the semitrailer were damaged and released hydrogen. The hydrogen ignited and burned the rear of the semitrailer. In the meantime, the pickup truck had also run off the view more

A leaking liquid hydrogen cryogenic pump shaft during the process of filling a gaseous tube delivery trailer to 2400 psi at a liquid hydrogen transfilling location caused a series of explosions and a fire. After approximately 30 minutes of filling, the operator heard a single loud explosion and then saw flames and ripples from heat generation near the ground in the hydrogen fill area. The operator quickly actuated the emergency alarm system that shut down the cryogenic pump and closed the air-actuated valves on the cryogenic pump supply line. After this shutdown, three smaller explosions were heard as well as the sound of gas releasing from a safety relief valve. The fire department was called to the scene and participated in the final shutdown of the hydrogen system as the fire was view more

An explosion occurred at a chemical plant in an analysis room containing various analyzer instruments, including a gas chromatograph supplied with hydrogen. A contract operator was performing work to install a new vent line to a benzene analyzer that was part of a group of CO2 analyzers, but separate and unrelated to the gas chromatograph. During the process of this work, a plant supervisor accompanying the contract operator doing the work had an indication of flammable gas present on a portable detector. This was in conflict with the fixed gas detector in the analysis room that was indicating that no flammable gas was present. As a precaution, the plant supervisor immediately cut off the hydrogen supply and, along with the contract operator, began the normal task of determining if view more

A refinery hydrocracker effluent pipe section ruptured and released a mixture of gases, including hydrogen, which instantly ignited on contact with the air, causing an explosion and a fire. Excessive high temperature, likely in excess of 1400°F (760°C), initiated in one of the reactor beds spread to adjacent beds and raised the temperature and pressure of the effluent piping to the point where it failed. An operator who was checking a field temperature panel at the base of the reactor and trying to diagnose the high-temperature problem was killed. A total of 46 other plant personnel were injured and 13 of these were taken to local hospitals, treated, and released. There were no reported injuries to the public.

Property damage included an 18-inch (46-centimeter) long tear in the view more

A hydrogen alarm sounded when hydrogen buildup occurred in an unmanned switching room containing backup lead acid batteries after the exhaust ventilation fans failed to start at the 1% hydrogen trigger level. Failure of the ventilation fans to vent the normal off-gassing hydrogen from the lead acid batteries resulted in the hydrogen concentration in the room increasing to 2%, which triggered the hydrogen alarm. The alarm was automatically sent to an alarm-monitoring company that alerted the local fire department as well as company personnel of the condition. The fire department was dispatched to the scene and, along with company personnel, provided secondary ventilation to lower the hydrogen concentration to normal conditions. Hydrogen leakage from lead acid batteries is normal, and view more

A pipe rupture occurred in a steam methane reformer (SMR) process that produces hydrogen and export steam. The rupture occurred in a 24-inch diameter stainless steel (SS) pipe used to allow the process gas flow to bypass the high-temperature shift converter (HTS) during start-up. When the pipe ruptured, process gas contained in process equipment located upstream and downstream of the break vented into the SMR plant yard area. The vented process gas was a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, steam, and methane at 550 psig and 650 deg F. The escaping high-pressure gas caused an energy release and subsequent fire. The fire was confined within the SMR plant, but equipment located near the pipe failure was damaged. The SMR plant distributed control system (DCS) worked view more

A previously identified generator hydrogen gas leakage into the stator cooling water system exceeded the predetermined maximum operational allowance and the nuclear plant was shut down from 100 percent power in accordance with plant operating procedures. The leak was identified by monitoring the stator water cooling system detraining tank. Following reactor shut down and generator rotor removal, a small hole was located in the collector end winding area of a slot on the top stator bar. A small particle of carbon steel (estimated to be 2 mm/0.078 inch by 0.6 mm/0.023 inch) is believed to have caused the damage. The source of the carbon steel particle was either foreign material introduced during previous generator internal work or from a phenomenon called "back-of-core burning view more

A 9,000-gallon (34,069-liter) cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage vessel, installed outdoors at a manufacturing plant in an urban area, over-pressurized and released hydrogen into the atmosphere through a safety relief device (burst disk). When the burst disk released pressure, a loud bang was heard by neighbors and reported to the local police. The police investigated and heard the sound of gaseous hydrogen escaping from the vessel's vent stack, which rose approximately 15-20 feet (4.6-6.1 meters) in the air.

Police called the local fire department. Firefighters entered the facility and told employees inside that there was an explosion on the property and they needed to evacuate. As a precautionary measure, some nearby city buildings were also evacuated and the street was view more

Within the International Space Station (ISS) oxygen generator, an increase in differential pressure across a pump supplying return water to a PEM electrolyzer fuel cell stack had persisted over a 4-month period and was approaching the shut-off limit for the system. This decrease in performance was suspected to be caused by water-borne catalyst fines containing platinum black and Teflon®* binder materials, shed by the fuel cell stack, and accumulated within the pump's inlet filter. Maintenance in the field was required.

The system had been designed for factory maintenance, and no contingency had been planned to handle field maintenance for such a circumstance. An initial assessment of hazards for the proposed filter maintenance raised the concern that opening the water line view more

An operation to increase the pressure within a hydrogen tube-trailer to 6000 psig was in progress when a burst disk failed at approximately 5200 psig and hydrogen was released. A vent line attached to the burst disk was not sufficiently anchored and bent outward violently from the thrust of the release over an approximate 4-inch moment arm, causing considerable damage to the adjacent vent system components. The operation is conducted with personnel present, but fortunately no one was in proximity when the burst disk failed.

Following the incident, the damaged portion of the tube bank, consisting of 6 tubes, was isolated by valves on the system manifold. The operation was resumed with the unaffected portion of the tube bank, possessing another 18 tubes, until a second burst disk view more