Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 5, pp.

579--584

0360-3199/80/1101-0579 $02.00/0

Pergamon Press Ltd. 1980. Printed in Great Britain

International Association for Hydrogen Energy

HYDROGEN SAFETY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF

REGULATIONS, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
J. HORD
Thermophysical Properties Division, National Engineering Laboratory, National Bureau of Standards,
Boulder, CO 80302, U.S.A.

(Received for publication 16 April 1980)

Abstract--Current federal regulations applicable to the manufacture and maintenance of hydrogen equipment
and to the distribution of gaseous and liquid hydrogen in the United States are summarized and presented in
a table of regulatory references. A similar table of references is presented for nonmandatory standards and
guidelines pertinent to hydrogen safety and hydrogen facilities/equipment specifications. These two tables
concisely summarize the best available information that has been published in industry, universities and
government agencies for the safe production, storage and handling of hydrogen.

HYDROGEN gas has been produced in large quantities by the United States (U.S.) and other
countries around the world for several decades. Large scale liquefaction of hydrogen commenced
in the U.S. in the early fifties and consumption of hydrogen has steadily increased [1] through the
years. Thus, industry has methodically demonstrated the capability to safely produce, store and
handle gaseous and liquid hydrogen.
Personnel safety requires strict adherence to industrially accepted standards and guidelines and
compliance with existing regulatory codes. The word "codes" is used sparingly herein because it
refers to regulations (mandatory) and standards (nonmandatory or mandatory). Codes of regulations are mandatory and enforceable, but codes of standards are nonmandatory unless they are
specified in the regulatory codes of regulatory authorities. Various interdisciplinary committees,
with industrial, government and university representatives, have published guidelines for safe
procedures to be followed throughout the various phases of producing and using hydrogen. Some
of these publications have been accepted industry-wide as national standards and these standards
are mandatory and enforceable when they are adopted by regulatory bodies such as the Department
of Transportation (DOT), state and city governments etc. Insurance companies usually adopt or
specify existing standards, practices and procedures as a condition of insurability for industrial
organizations. Examples of nonmandatory standards thay may be adopted by U.S. regulatory
bodies are those issued by the ASME, ANSI, ISA, NFPA, UL etc. (See References for identification of acronyms.) Current federal regulations that pertain to hydrogen are listed in Table 1
and nonmandatory standards and guidelines are selectively referenced in Table 2.
Federal regulations apply to the interstate transportation of hydrogen and are administered and
enforced by the various branches of the Department of Transportation: the Federal Highway
Administration for transport by highway; the Federal Railroad Administration for transport by
railway; the Federal Aviation Administration for air transport; and the U.S. Coast Guard for
water transport. The Materials Transportation Bureau (through the Office of Hazardous Materials
Operations) has enforcement responsibility in all other matters related to vehicular transportation
of hydrogen. The Office of Pipeline Safety Operations of the Materials Transportation Bureau has
authority over pipeline transmission of hazardous gases and liquids. Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, Parts 102 and 107. 301, designates these rule-making and enforcement bodies of the
DoT. This regulatory document is cited as 49 CFR 102 and 49 CFR 107.301--see [2]. In addition
to the regulations and standards set forth in Tables 1 and 2, municipal and state regulations may
be imposed for the storage and intrastate transportation of hydrogen.
The Transportation Safety Act of 1974 precipitated reorganization of the DoT and concomitant
revision of applicable regulatory codes. Equipment specifications and shipping and carder regulations for gaseous and liquid hydrogen are given in 49 CFR (170-179). This code summarizes the
federal regulations for transportation of hydrogen by highway, railroad, air and water and eliminates
579

580

J. H O R D
TAat~E 1. R e g u l a t i o n s ( m a n d a t o r y ) f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n o f h y d r o g e n

Distribution of hydrogen by
Cylinders
filled
liquid--by highway

with

Equipment
specifications

Transportation
regulations

49CFR 178.5712]

49 CFR (172.200--172.542), Also Parts

173.316, 177, 177.823, 177.840, 177.859, 397
[2, 3]

Highway truck trailers filled

with liquid

CGA*-341 and DoT approval

prior to fabrication: 49 CFR
107.103 [2, 4]

Requires "exemption" by the Office of Hazardous Materials Operations of DoT: 49 CFR

(172.200-172.542), also Parts 173.32, 173.33,
177, 177.823, 177.859, 397 [2, 3]

Railway tank cars filled with

49 CFR 179, also Parts

179.400, 179.401 [2]

49 CFR (172.200-172.542),
173.316, 174 I21

liquid
Container
filled
with
liquid----by air or waterway

Also Parts

Not allowed under current regulations (see 49

CFR 172.101) [2]. Shipment by tank barge has
been allowed under special permit of the DoT.
Future shipments, if permitted, will require
an "exemption".

Liquid pipeline

ANSI B31.8, B31.3" B31.10*

[5-7]

49 CFR (190-192), also Part 195 [2]

Cylinders filled with compressed gas---by highway or

highway truck trailers filled
with compressed gas

49 CFR 173,34, also Parts

178.36, 178.37 I2l

49 CFR (172.200-172.542), also Parts 173.301,

173.302, 177, 177.823, 177.840, 177.859, 397
[2, 3]

Railway tank cars filled with

compressed gas

49 CFR 173.31, also Parts

179, 179.50012]

49 CFR (172.200-172.542), also parts 173.314,

174 [2]

Container filled with compressed gas--by air

49 CFR 173.34, also Parts

178.36, 178.37 [2]

DoT approved cylinders on cargo aircraft

only, with a maximum charge of 300 lb (136 kg)
of 1-12per container package: 49 CFR 172.101,
also Parts (172.200-172.542),
173.301,
173.302, 173.306, 175; see also CAB No. 82
[2, 9]

Container filled with compressed gas---by waterway

49 CFR 173.31, also Parts

173.34, 178.36, 178.37, 179,
179.500 [2]

Gas pipeline

ANSI B31.8, B31.3"; B31.2"

[5, 6, 81

DoT approved cylinders on cargo vessels only;

DoT approved highway vehicles on trailership, ferry or caritoat only; DoT approved
tank cars on trainship, railroad-car ferry or
carttoat only. 49 CFR 172.101, also Parts
(172.200-172.542), 173.301,173.302, 173.306,
173.314, 176, 176.63,176.76 [2]
49 CFR (190-192) [2]

General industrial safety matters, including the production and handling of flammable compressed and liquefied
gases, are regulated by OSHA PL 91-596 [10].
* Not mandatory but industrially accepted standards.
t h e n e e d to r e f e r t o T i t l e 14 (for air s h i p m e n t s ) a n d Title 46 (for w a t e r s h i p m e n t s ) as p r e v i o u s l y
r e q u i r e d [78]. G r a z i a n o ' s [79] T a r i f f N o . 32 c o n t a i n s all of t h e p e r t i n e n t t r a n s p o r t a t i o n r e g u l a t i o n s
set f o r t h in T i t l e 49 C F R , e x c e p t f o r gas a n d liquid p i p e l i n e r e g u l a t i o n = 49 C F R ( 1 9 0 - 1 9 2 ) a n d
49 C F R 195, r e s p e c t i v e l y . P i p e l i n e t r a n s m i s s i o n o f f l a m m a b l e c o m p r e s s e d gases ( p r e s u m a b l y
i n c l u d i n g h y d r o g e n ) is r e g u l a t e d b y 49 C F R ( 1 9 0 - 1 9 2 ) .

HYDROGEN SAFETY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

581

TABLE 2. Nonmandatory standards and guidelines for hydrogen safety

Storage of hydrogen
at consumer sites as

Equipmentspecifications

Industrial standards

Compressed gas

ASME*, Section 8, Divisions 1 and 2 [11, 12]

ASME*, Section 8, Divisions 1 and 2 [11, 12]

NFPA* 50A [13]

Liquid

NFPA* 50B [14]

Safety guidelines

References

Handling procedures(includessafety in production,

transportation and distribution,personnel trainingetc.)

[13-35]

Storage

[13-15, 33, 36, 37,* 38t]

Explosivecriteria

Summarizedin [15] and [39]

See also [40] and [41]

Leak detection and fire detection, prevention, control

[15, 42-50]

Facilities

[15] and [39]

Mechanicalequipment

[4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 51-66, 67,:~

68,]

Electricalequipment

[48, 49, 69--77]

* Not mandatorybut industriallyaccepted standards.

t Hydride storage safety has been fully evaluated for lanthium-nickeland iron-titanium
hydrides.
Summarydocumentsrelated to materialsresearchneeds and compatiblematerialsfor liquid
and gaseous hydrogen service.
The DoT classifies and treats gaseous and liquid hydrogen as a compressed F L A M M A B L E
G A S - - s e e 49 C F R 172.101 and 49 C F R (172-179). H Y D R O G E N , L I Q U E F I E D is the proper
shipping name for liquid hydrogen 49 C F R 172.101. Air transportation of compressed hydrogen
gas is regulated by 49 CFR (172-178) and the commercial carrier restricted articles Tariff No. 6D [9]. Liquid hydrogen is not currently accepted for air shipments. Transportation of compressed
hydrogen gas by water is regulated by 49 CFR (172-179) and liquid hydrogen cannot currently
be shipped by water; however, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has barged
liquid hydrogen over distances of 84 km offshore Louisiana-Mississippi under special permit of
the U.S. Coast Guard. The D o T no longer issues "special permits" but grants "exemptions" to
the regulations for special shipments of hazardous materials (including liquid hydrogen). The
Office of Hazardous Materials Operations of DoT has the authority to issue these exemptions,
which are required to transport liquid hydrogen in truck trailers via highway and in all other cases
where DoT equipment specifications are nonexistent--see 49 CFR (107.101-107.125).
REFERENCES
Note: in the references that follow,

CGA Compressed Gas Association, Inc., 500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10036.
ANSI American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018.
NFPA National Fire Protection Association, Publication Sales Department, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston,
MA 02210.

582

J. HORD
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers, United Engineering Center, 345 East 47th Street,
New York, NY 10017.
UL
Underwriters' Laboratories, Publication Stock, 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062.
ISA
Instrument Society of America, 400 Stanwix Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

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HYDROGEN SAFETY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

583

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Pamphlet C-5 (1976).

584

J. HORD

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