Incident Report
Subject: HYDROGEN "ATTACK" ON HEAT EXCHANGER CASING PROBABLE CAUSE OF FATAL BLAST
Date
of Email report: Thu 16/09/2010
Report Detail:
Tesoro, the operator of the refinery where five workers were killed when a heat exchanger exploded in April 2010 has announced the findings of its investigations into the incident. It believes hydrogen molecules worked their way over time into small imperfections in the steel casing of the heat exchanger. The hydrogen then reacted with carbon in the steel, forming bubbles of methane. The bubbles led to cracks in the steel, causing it eventually to give way, releasing hydrocarbons and hydrogen that mixed into a fireball. The US Chemical Safety Board is still to report on its official investigation into the incident.
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