October 2004

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DANBURY, CT/VANCOUVER, BC - The hydrogen leak and fire that caused light damage to a Praxair liquid hydrogen carrier during unloading at a Ballard facility in early August was caused by the driver’s failure to follow procedures, Praxair said last month.

“A preliminary investigation has revealed that the cause of the release was a failure by the contract carrier driver to follow proper unloading procedures,“ Praxair’s vice president for communications, Nigel D. Muir, said in a Sept. 3 statement. “Prior to beginning the unloading process, the driver operated an automatic valve on the trailer in a sequence that varied from standard operating procedures. “This allowed hydrogen to escape to the air through a manual valve that had been left open after completing an earlier fill at another storage tank on the customer's site earlier that evening. This was also a failure by the driver to follow the proper unloading procedure.

“Once mixed with the air, the hydrogen ignited, likely from static electricity, resulting in a fire emanating from the discharge piping on the trailer.”

Muir’s statement also said that “as part of an ongoing investigation, a thorough examination of the equipment involved is also being performed.”

The incident occurred Aug. 6 (H&FCL Sept, 4). The phraseology of the Praxair statement - “preliminary” and “ongoing” investigation - seemed to indicate that the case isn’t completely closed so far.

Based on interviews with Ballard and Praxair managers before the statement’s release, it appeared at the time that the cause had to do with the equipment, but that investigators were looking at possible human error. Contact: Praxair, Nigel D. Muir, phone 203/837-2240.