Safety Training for the Hydrogen Economy
PNNL and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training and Education Center are helping to prepare emergency responders and permitting/code enforcement officials for their respective roles in the future Hydrogen Economy. Safety will be a critical component of the anticipated hydrogen transition. Public confidence goes hand in hand with perceived safety to such an extent that, without it, the envisioned transition is unlikely to occur. Stakeholders and the public must be reassured that hydrogen, although very different from gasoline and other conventional fuels, is no more dangerous. Ensuring safety in the hydrogen infrastructure will require a suitably trained emergency response force for containing the inevitable incidents as they occur, coupled with knowledgeable code officials to ensure that such incidents are kept to a minimum. PNNL and HAMMER are, therefore, designing a hydrogen safety training program, funded by DOE's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program, and modeled after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s multi-tiered approach to hazardous materials training. Capabilities under development at HAMMER include classroom and long-distance (i.e., satellite and internet broadcast) learning, as well as life-size, hands-on hydrogen burn props for “training as real as it gets.” This paper presents insights gained from the early emergency response hydrogen safety training courses held in 2005 and current plans for design and construction of a number of hydrogen burn props.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 900206
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-46719; EB4204000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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