A Rochester NY truck driver delivering a Hydrogen Tank to a refueling station was injured with first and second degree burns during an accidental explosion August 26.
The explosion happened at the Monroe County Green Alternative Fueling Station on Scottsville Rd. during a truck re-fueling around 12:45 Thursday afternoon.
The main runway of the airport was closed after the explosion, but was reopened around 2:15 p.m.
Two hydrogen tanks at Monroe County’s alternative fuel station exploded, County Executive Maggie Brooks and Airport Director David Damelio said at a press briefing earlier this afternoon. A Praxair employee was driving an 18-wheel truck with a compressed-hydrogen tank to the station. The plan was to replace another truck and tank. According to Damelio, this happens once a month at the fueling station.
But a partly used hydrogen tank exploded into flames. Those flames then spread to the truck with the full tank, which also exploded.
A 20-year-old female fast food employee was injured when she leaned out of a nearby Burger King drive-thru window to see what the explosion was. She suffered minor injuries.
This accident happened while replacing the main refueling tank not while a motorist was refueling their vehicle but it does bring to question the safety of using Hydrogen as a replacement fuel source
Many fueling stations can produce Hydrogen on site eliminating the need for changing out tanks of fuel.
The site is part of the GM Alternative Fuel Research program in the town of Honeoye Falls.