Hazmet Team Stops Hydrogen Build-Up in Drum at Wiseco Plant

The Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team relieved pressure from a large over-pressurized drum filled with hydrogen gas at the Wiseco Piston Company on Friday morning, the Mentor Fire Department said.

Employees noticed that a 55-gallon steel drum was expanding and reported it at around 10 a.m. The drum’s contents of aluminum shavings, graphite powder and cutting oil mixed and caused a build-up of hydrogen gas, according to a fire department report.

Officials decided to call in the hazmat team to relieve pressure in the drum, and the operation was finished in the early afternoon.

Battalion Chief Kevin Edmond said no one was hurt, and the environment wasn’t affected. The plant didn’t close because the drum is located 15 feet from the company’s building. The drum will be removed from the premise within the next 24-48 hours, Edmond said.

Edmond said this was the first time this kind of incident has occurred at the company’s site.