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A routine maintenance outage was in progress on a 375 MW turbine and generator set at a coal-fired power station. 13 days into the shutdown, with the turbine and generator already partially dis-assembled, mechanics removed an access cover from the generator’s gaseous hydrogen cooling system. A release of pressurised hydrogen occurred and resulted in multiple explosions and fires. Three workers were killed by injuries sustained in the blast. The fires were brought under control after 15 minutes. Only 1 of the 6 turbo-generator sets in the turbine hall was damaged, but the remaining 5 were taken off-line for precautionary safety inspections. The cost of replacement fuels and purchased power associated with this accident was US$ 5 million.
Ask yourself and your crew:
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?
Original content courtesy of IChemE Safety Centre
